Nigeria has secured a rare conviction linking terrorism and illegal mining, with authorities calling it a breakthrough in efforts to cut off funding for violent groups.
On 11 September, the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Mahmud Usman, a commander of the Ansaru terror group, to 15 years in prison after he admitted to mining operations carried out without government authorisation. Known also as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, Usman was convicted on one count of a 32-charge indictment, while his deputy, Abubakar Abba, was also named in the case.
The court heard that the men illegally mined precious stones such as thunder stones and california stones for more than a decade, allegedly using proceeds to fund insurgent activities.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, described the ruling as proof that “bandits engaged in illegal mining to fund their operations,” and promised tougher enforcement in the months ahead. He noted that 31 related cases against Ansaru leaders remain before the courts.
The conviction comes amid wider government efforts to secure Nigeria’s mineral resources. In 2024, Alake launched the Mining Marshals, a paramilitary unit under the Civil Defence Corps, to patrol mine sites nationwide.
Alake praised the Department of State Services (DSS) for tracking the suspects and said closer cooperation between security agencies would “raise the tempo of surveillance” to dismantle networks blending terrorism with illegal mining.
