Alake won the belief in the leader of Ansaru as a turning point in the war against illegal mining

This new belief in Mahmud Usman, a major commander of the Ansaru terrorist group, is an important milestone in Nigeria’s sustainable battle against illegal mining, according to the Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dr. Dele Alake.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Assistant, especially in the media, Segun Tomori, the Minister praised the verdict as a clear sign that the redness of the government in illegal mining – often accustomed to funding terrorism – producing results.

“It is very fun that the court is in line with the aim of the ministry without tolerance for illegal mining. Furthermore, tightening snares around illegality in mining continues because more drastic actions will soon be announced,” Alake said.

Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on September 11 by the Federal High Court in Abuja after claiming to be guilty to count 10 of the 32-calculating terrorism accusations. His deputy, Abubakar Abba (alias Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri), was also named in the same setting.

According to court documents, the two men were accused of being involved in illegal mining of high -value minerals, including Stones Thunder and California Stones, without legal authority between 2015 and 2025.

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Alake highlighted the importance of the decision in exposing how terrorist groups exploited the mining sector to finance violence and insecurity. “This decision is proof that the bandits involved in illegal mining to fund their operations,” he said.

He also praised the Directorate of State Services (DSS) because of his role in tracking, capturing, and demanding people involved in forbidden trade. “We will increase inter-institutional collaboration to increase the tempo of supervision to get rid of our community illegal mining carried out by Bandit,” Alake added.

The minister revealed that the ministry strictly monitored 31 cases related to terrorism involving other Ansaru commanders, with a view to learning from them and perfecting strategies to fight illegal mining.

This development followed the previous claim by Alake and Senator Adams Oshiomhole that the strong people involved in illegal mining funding bandits throughout the country.

Responding to the increase in threats, Alake in 2024 launched Marshal mining, a special security unit taken from the Nigerian Civil Defense and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), which was assigned to protect mining locations and curb illegal activities nationally.

When Nigeria intensified his strong action on the exploitation of illegal minerals, the punishment of a terrorist figure like Usman sent a strong message: the era of using mining profits to trigger insecurity would soon end.