By Ayomide Otitoju
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers, including two nationals of the Niger Republic, allegedly linked to the gunmen who attacked St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri Village, Niger State, and abducted nearly 300 students and staff in November 2025.
Security sources disclosed that operatives recovered a large cache of weapons from the suspects, including 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.
According to the sources, two of the suspects, Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, a wanted member of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram), and his associate, Mubarak Ibrahim, were apprehended along the Zaria-Kaduna highway while allegedly on their way to collect a consignment of arms for terrorist commanders.
The arrests reportedly led to a follow-up operation that resulted in the capture of Goni Ibrahim, an international arms courier from the Diffa Region of the Niger Republic, and his accomplice, Tukur Sani.
The duo was intercepted in a blue vehicle in which the weapons and ammunition were concealed, the sources said.
Days later, operatives arrested another suspected member of the arms trafficking network, Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe, in Yauri, Kebbi State. He was alleged to be involved in supplying arms to criminal elements operating within the Kebbi axis.
Preliminary investigations, according to the security sources, revealed that the five suspects served as arms couriers for the gunmen responsible for the November 21, 2025, attack on the Catholic boarding school in Papiri.
The attack occurred in the early hours of the day when dozens of armed men riding motorcycles stormed the primary and secondary boarding school, rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint.
While about 50 pupils reportedly escaped during the chaos, more than 250 others were taken into the Kainji Lake National Park forest reserve, where they were held captive for several weeks.
On December 21, 2025, the Federal Government and Niger State authorities confirmed the rescue and safe return of the remaining 130 captives, stating that all abducted students had been freed and reunited with their families.
