₦airaland Forum

Nigeria has faced a prolonged insurgency from jihadist groups like Boko Haram (Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad), its splinter Ansaru (Jama'atu Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan), and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). These groups have orchestrated bombings, kidnappings, and massacres, killing tens of thousands since 2009. Arrests of high-profile figures, often commanders, financiers, or planners, have been sporadic but significant, typically through intelligence-led operations by the Department of State Services (DSS), police, or military. Below is a list of notable arrests since 2010.
"Top" status is based on their roles in major attacks, leadership positions, or confirmed confessions linking them to high-impact operations.
The list focuses on confirmed, high-profile cases from reliable reports; exhaustive lists of lower-level arrests (e.g., the 20 commanders in 2015 or 22 fighters in 2018) are not feasible, as they often remain unnamed.

1. Kabiru Umar Abubakar Dikko (aka Kabiru Sokoto)

Group: Boko Haram
Role: Mastermind of the 2011 Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla (44 killed)
Arrest: January 2012 (Borno Governor’s Lodge, Abuja) → escaped → recaptured February 2012 in Taraba State
Training location: Internal Boko Haram camps in northern Nigeria (Borno/Yobe areas). No foreign training confirmed.
Status: Serving life imprisonment since 2013.

2. Mahmud Muhammed Usman (aka Mallam Mahmuda / Mamuda)

Group: Ansaru
Role: Deputy leader of Ansaru, expert in IEDs and weapons, involved in kidnappings and attacks on security forces
Arrest: July 2025 in Kaduna
Training location: Libya (2013–2015) under Egyptian, Tunisian, and Algerian jihadist instructors (post-Gaddafi era camps, not Gaddafi himself)
Status: In custody,, charges pending.

3. Abu Baraa (aka Abul Baraa)

Group: Ansaru
Role: Overall leader (Amir) of Ansaru, masterminded the 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train attack and other high-profile kidnappings
Arrest: May 2025
Training location: Not publicly specified, but almost certainly Libya and/or Sahel AQIM-linked camps (same network as his deputy)
Status: In custody.

4. Khalid al-Barnawi (real name Shuaibu Mohammed)

Group: Ansaru (founder) / Boko Haram
Role: AQIM-trained kidnapping specialist, orchestrated the 2012 UN headquarters bombing in Abuja
Arrest: April 2016 in Lokoja, Kogi State
Training location: Algerian desert (AQIM camps) + other North African and Middle Eastern locations
Status: Serving life sentence since 2017.

5. Yawi Modu

Group: Boko Haram
Role: High-ranking logistics and IED supply commander
Arrest: September 2021 on Damboa-Wajiroko road, Borno State
Training location: Internal Boko Haram camps in north-east Nigeria (Sambisa Forest area)
Status: In custody.

6. Usman Shuaibu (aka Money)

Group: Boko Haram
Role: Leader of bombing cells responsible for attacks in Kano, Zaria, Jos, and Potiskum (2014–2015)
Arrest: August 2015 in Gombe
Training location: Internal Boko Haram camps in Nigeria; possible indirect AQIM influence but not confirmed abroad
Status: In custody.

7. Habibu Bama

Group: Boko Haram
Role: Mid-level commander involved in early bombings and abductions
Arrest: 2012 in Kano
Training location: Former Nigerian soldier; trained inside early Boko Haram camps in Yobe and Borno (Kanamma base)
Status: Serving prison sentence.

No mention of Nnamdi Kanu.

Islam is really a religion of piss.. chai.

You forgot there is still one of them out there growing fat like a whale. The one that was trained in Afghanistan. He is in the South-South and he wants to die because government gave Tompolo contract.

The caption is misleading. These are not jihadist terrorists. They are simply criminals.

Has any of them been executed or sent to life imprisonment?.

If you don't have the list of sponsors don't post nonsense.