Key points
- DSS arrests five suspected arms couriers linked to the November 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
- Security operatives recover 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition.
- Two foreign nationals from Niger Republic among suspects as investigations trace weapons supply chain to the school attackers.
Main story
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected members of an arms trafficking network believed to have supplied weapons to the gunmen responsible for the abduction of hundreds of students and staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri Village, Niger State, in November 2025.
Security sources disclosed that the suspects include two foreign nationals from Niger Republic and several alleged collaborators linked to terrorist and criminal networks operating across northern Nigeria.
Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, a suspected member of the outlawed Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram), and his accomplice, Mubarak Ibrahim. The duo was reportedly intercepted along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while allegedly travelling to collect a consignment of arms for their commanders.
Subsequent intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, identified as an international arms courier from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic, alongside his associate, Tukur Sani.
Security operatives reportedly recovered a significant cache of weapons concealed in a blue vehicle used by the suspects. The recovered items include 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.
In a related operation, DSS operatives later apprehended another suspected member of the syndicate, Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe, in Yauri, Kebbi State. He is alleged to be a major arms supplier operating within the Kebbi axis.
Preliminary investigations, according to security sources, indicate that the five suspects served as arms couriers for the gunmen who carried out the attack on the Catholic boarding school in Papiri on November 21, 2025.
The attack saw dozens of heavily armed gunmen riding motorcycles storm the primary and secondary boarding school in the early hours of the day, rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint before taking them into captivity.
While about 50 students reportedly escaped during the confusion that followed the attack, more than 250 others were forced into the Kainji Lake National Park forest area, where they remained in captivity for weeks.
The Federal Government and Niger State Government later confirmed the rescue of the remaining 130 captives on December 21, 2025, bringing an end to one of the country’s most significant school abduction incidents in recent years.
The issues
The arrests highlight the persistent challenge of arms trafficking and cross-border criminal networks that continue to fuel terrorism, banditry and mass kidnappings across northern Nigeria.
Security analysts have repeatedly identified the proliferation of illegal weapons and porous borders as major factors sustaining armed groups responsible for attacks on schools, communities and critical infrastructure.
The involvement of foreign nationals also underscores the transnational nature of the arms supply chain supporting criminal and terrorist operations within the region.
What’s being said
Security sources said investigations have established links between the suspects and the gunmen behind the Papiri school attack.
The sources further disclosed that intelligence gathered from the arrests is helping security agencies track broader networks involved in the procurement, transportation and distribution of illegal weapons across northern Nigeria.
Authorities believe the recovery of the weapons cache has disrupted planned criminal activities and weakened the operational capacity of the syndicate.
What’s next
Security agencies are expected to intensify investigations to identify additional members of the network and dismantle associated arms supply routes.
The suspects are likely to face prosecution upon the conclusion of investigations, while intelligence obtained from the operation may lead to further arrests within and outside Nigeria.
Authorities are also expected to strengthen border surveillance and inter-agency collaboration to curb the movement of illegal arms across the region.
Bottom line
The arrest of five suspected arms couriers and the recovery of a large cache of weapons mark a significant breakthrough in efforts to unravel the network behind the Papiri school kidnapping. The operation underscores the critical role of intelligence-led security actions in disrupting arms trafficking routes that sustain terrorism, banditry and mass abductions across northern Nigeria.
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