[GUARDIAN.NG] A Nigerian court has sentenced the presumed leader of the Ansaru jihadist group, Mahmud Muhammad Usman, to 15 years in prison for what local media on Thursday termed ''illegal mining activities''.Nigerian authorities announced the capture of Usman and fellow Ansuru leader Mahmud al-Nigeri in mid-August.
Usman pleaded guilty to the mining charge — the activity having allowed him to procure firearms for attacks by his group, Nigerian media reported.
He also faces 31 other charges, including acts of terrorism and kidnapping, for which he faces an October trial.
Ansaru grew out of a 2021 split within the Boko Haram group, and the group then allied itself with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
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