ABUJA — In a major breakthrough against terror financing and logistics, the Department of State Services (DSS) has dismantled a transnational syndicate supplying weapons to the terrorists behind the November 21, 2025, mass abduction at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
Five suspects, including an internationally wanted terrorist and two nationals from the Niger Republic, were intercepted in coordinated, intelligence-led operations. Operatives also recovered a massive cache of combat weaponry, including 15 AK-103 assault rifles, 15 matching magazines, and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition hidden inside a concealed compartment of a blue operational vehicle.
The Highway Interception
Security sources confirmed that the breakthrough began on the Zaria-Kaduna Highway, where DSS operatives intercepted a high-profile target, Yusuf Mohammed (alias Bature). Mohammed is a notorious figure on the state security watchlist for his membership in Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram).
Mohammed was arrested alongside his immediate accomplice, Mubarak Ibrahim, while transit-bound to receive a heavy consignment of firearms on behalf of terrorist commanders operating across the North-West and North-Central regions. Intelligence reports link their specific cell—the Sadiku-led Boko Haram faction—not only to the Papiri incident but also to recent school raids across the country.
Unraveling the Cross-Border Network
Following aggressive, post-arrest interrogations, the secret police launched follow-up operations that exposed the network’s cross-border logistics chain. This led directly to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, a suspected international arms trafficker originating from the volatile Diffa Region of the Niger Republic, and his local associate, Tukur Sani.
Days later, the dragnet extended into Kebbi State. Operatives tracking the syndicate’s western supply route arrested Alhaji Adamu (alias Gado Banufe) in Yauri. Security files identify Adamu as a major logistical spine for armed bandits and insurgents operating along the Kebbi axis.
Preliminary investigations have firmly tied all five suspects to the logistics preparation that enabled the devastating raid on the Papiri boarding facility last November.
Echoes of the Papiri Raid
The arrests come exactly six months after the harrowing assault on St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Boarding School in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State.
In the early hours of November 21, 2025, dozens of heavily armed Boko Haram fighters on motorcycles overran the facility. They rounded up 315 victims—comprising 303 students, some as young as five years old, and 12 teachers—before herding them into a truck and marching them into the dense canopy of the Kainji Lake National Park.
While roughly 50 children managed to slip away in the initial chaos, more than 250 remained deep within hostile territory for weeks. Following intense diplomatic and kinetic pressure by the Federal Government and Niger State authorities, a progressive release culminated on December 21, 2025, when officials confirmed the safe recovery of the final 130 captives.
A senior DSS insider noted that while the children are safe, closing the loop on the networks that armed their captors remains vital.
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”These arrests represent a strategic blow to the insurgent supply chain. We are systematically hunting down the facilitators who turn illicit cross-border trade into local terror,” the source stated.
Investigations remain active as security agencies work to identify higher-tier distributors in the sub-region.
