DSS Arrests Two Foreign Arms Couriers, Three Others Linked To Papiri School Abduction, Recovers 15 AK Rifles, 1,434 Ammunition

Abuja, Nigeria– The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers, including two foreign nationals from neighbouring Niger Republic, over their alleged role in supplying weapons to gunmen responsible for the mass abduction of students and staff of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Boarding School in Papiri, Niger State.

Afrika Eyes gathered that the suspects were apprehended during coordinated intelligence-led operations targeting a cross-border arms trafficking syndicate believed to be supplying weapons to armed groups operating across northern Nigeria.

Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, identified by security sources as a suspected member of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), the faction widely known as Boko Haram, alongside his associate, Mubarak Ibrahim.

The duo was reportedly intercepted along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while travelling to receive a fresh consignment of weapons allegedly meant for insurgent commanders.

Security sources disclosed that further operations by DSS operatives led to the arrest of 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, operatives who searched a blue vehicle linked to the suspects recovered a cache of sophisticated weapons concealed inside the vehicle, including 15 AK-103 assault rifles, 15 magazines and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.

“The weapons were carefully concealed for delivery to criminal elements operating within the northern axis,” one of the security sources said.

Meanwhile, days after the initial arrests, DSS operatives reportedly tracked and apprehended another suspected member of the syndicate, Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe, in Yauri, Kebbi State.

Investigators alleged that Adamu had been supplying arms and logistics support to criminal gangs terrorising communities around the Kebbi axis and adjoining areas.

Preliminary investigations by security agencies reportedly established that the five suspects functioned as arms couriers and logistics suppliers to the gunmen who carried out the deadly November 21, 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri.

The attack, which triggered national outrage, occurred in the early hours when dozens of heavily armed gunmen riding motorcycles stormed the Catholic boarding school, firing sporadically before rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint.

Although about 50 students reportedly escaped during the chaos that followed the invasion, more than 250 others were marched into the vast Kainji Lake Reserve forest where they remained in captivity for several weeks.

The mass abduction reignited concerns over worsening insecurity across north-central and northwestern Nigeria, especially repeated attacks targeting schools, rural communities and vulnerable civilians.

More than one 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 said all abducted students had been accounted for and confirmed that no pupil remained in captivity.

The DSS has yet to issue an official public statement on the arrests as of the time of filing this report.