Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani has revealed that the recently arrested terror suspects are linked to Ansaru, a notorious extremist group believed to have emerged as a breakaway faction from Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Sani explained that Ansaru has grown into its own identity as a terror network, distinct from other well-known groups but still maintaining similar extremist roots.
“Now, the suspects that were arrested were part of a terror group, perhaps a breakaway from Al-Qaeda or the ISWAP and they have their own called Ansaru,” he said.
Ansaru, officially known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan, came to prominence in 2012 and has been linked to a series of high-profile kidnappings and violent attacks across northern Nigeria.
Security experts have long considered the group to be one of the deadliest splinter cells with transnational connections.
Sani warned that the reemergence of Ansaru signals a worrying trend in Nigeria’s fight against insurgency.
He argued that the country is not only contending with Boko Haram and ISWAP but also with smaller, radicalized cells capable of independent operations.
The former lawmaker stressed the importance of intelligence gathering and collaboration between security agencies to dismantle such networks before they gain further ground.
He emphasized that groups like Ansaru often exploit ungoverned spaces, weak security structures and local grievances to recruit members and sustain their operations.
Sani further urged the government to address the socio-economic conditions fueling radicalization, warning that defeating terrorism requires more than military action. “Unless we deal with the root causes and strengthen our counter-terrorism capacity, groups like Ansaru will continue to thrive,” he noted.
