DSS Arrests Two Foreign Nationals, Three Nigerians For Supplying W£apons To Gunmen Behind Niger School K!dnap
DSS Arrests Two Foreign Nationals, Three Nigerians For Supplying Weapons To Gunmen Behind Niger School Kidnap
Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, a suspected member of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), popularly known as Boko Haram, and his associate, Mubarak Ibrahim.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers, including two foreign nationals from Niger Republic, over their alleged involvement in supplying weapons to gunmen responsible for the mass abduction of students and staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, in November 2025.
SaharaReporters gathered that the suspects were apprehended during a series of intelligence-led operations that uncovered a network allegedly responsible for ferrying weapons to armed groups operating across parts of northern Nigeria.
Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, a suspected member of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), popularly known as Boko Haram, and his associate, Mubarak Ibrahim.
Both of them were reportedly intercepted along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while travelling to receive a consignment of weapons intended for insurgent commanders.
Subsequent operations led DSS operatives to Goni Ibrahim, an alleged international arms courier from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic. He was arrested alongside an accomplice, Tukur Sani.
According to the sources, a search of a blue vehicle used by the suspects uncovered a significant cache of weapons, including 15 AK-103 assault rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition concealed within the vehicle.
Meanwhile, days after the initial arrests, DSS operatives also apprehended another suspected member of the arms trafficking syndicate, Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe, in Yauri, Kebbi State.
He is alleged to have supplied weapons to criminal groups operating around the Kebbi axis and neighbouring areas.
Preliminary investigations, according to security officials, established that the five suspects functioned as arms couriers and logistics suppliers to the gunmen who attacked St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Boarding School in Papiri on November 21, 2025.
The attack, one of the most shocking mass kidnappings recorded in Niger State, occurred in the early hours of the morning when dozens of heavily armed gunmen riding motorcycles stormed the Catholic boarding school and rounded up students and teachers at gunpoint.
While approximately 50 students managed to escape during the confusion that followed the invasion, more than 250 others were forced into the vast Kainji Lake Reserve forest, where they remained in captivity for weeks.
The abduction stirred national outrage and renewed concerns about the worsening security situation across parts of north-central and northwestern Nigeria, particularly attacks targeting schools and vulnerable communities.
However, more than a month after the incident, on December 21, 2025, federal and Niger State government officials announced the rescue and safe return of the remaining captives. Authorities confirmed that all abducted students had been accounted for and that no pupil remained in captivity.
