DSS arrests five suspected arms traffickers linked to Papiri School abduction

The Department of State Services (DSS) has recorded a major breakthrough in the investigation of the mass abduction of students and staff from a Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger State, with the arrest of five suspected arms traffickers, including two foreign nationals from neighbouring Niger Republic.

Security sources said the suspects were apprehended during a series of intelligence-driven operations targeting arms supply networks believed to be providing logistical support to terrorist groups and kidnapping gangs operating across northern Nigeria.

The arrests are being viewed by security officials as a significant step toward unraveling the network behind the November 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Boarding School in Papiri, where hundreds of students and teachers were abducted by heavily armed gunmen.

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Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, popularly known as Bature, and Mubarak Ibrahim.

Security sources alleged that Mohammed is on a watchlist over suspected links to Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, commonly known as Boko Haram.

The duo were reportedly intercepted along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while attempting to receive a consignment of weapons believed to be destined for criminal groups operating in the region.

Further intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, described as an international arms courier from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic, and another suspect identified as Tukur Sani.

Security operatives reportedly recovered a substantial cache of weapons concealed in a vehicle used by the suspects. Items recovered include 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.

In a related operation, another suspect, Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe, was arrested in Yauri, Kebbi State.

Authorities alleged that he played a key role in supplying weapons to armed groups operating within parts of northwestern Nigeria.

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Preliminary investigations, according to security sources, indicate that the suspects acted as arms couriers and suppliers for the gunmen responsible for the Papiri school attack.

The Papiri incident was one of the most high-profile mass kidnappings recorded in the country in recent years.

On November 21, 2025, dozens of armed men riding motorcycles reportedly invaded the Catholic boarding school, rounded up students and staff at gunpoint and whisked them away to unknown locations.

The attack renewed concerns over the growing collaboration between kidnapping syndicates, terrorist groups and transnational arms trafficking networks operating across Nigeria’s porous northern borders.

Security analysts have repeatedly warned that the availability of sophisticated weapons remains a major factor fueling banditry, terrorism and mass abductions in several parts of the country.

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The latest arrests are expected to provide investigators with valuable intelligence on the sources of weapons reaching criminal groups and the routes used to transport them across international borders.

Authorities said investigations remain ongoing as security agencies intensify efforts to identify and apprehend other members of the suspected arms trafficking syndicate.

The DSS has yet to issue an official statement on the operation, but security sources insist the arrests mark a major setback for criminal networks that have sustained kidnapping and terrorist activities across northern Nigeria.

The development comes amid renewed efforts by security agencies to dismantle the financial and logistical structures supporting armed groups responsible for a wave of attacks on communities, schools and travellers across the region.