The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers, including two foreign nationals from Niger Republic, in connection with the November 2025 abduction of nearly 300 students and staff from St. Mary's Catholic School.
Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, a ₩anted member of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram), and his associate, Mubarak Ibrahim.
The pair were reportedly intercepted along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while travelling to receive a consignment of arm$ intended for terrorist commanders.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, who is said to be from the D!ffa Region of Niger Republic. He was apprehended alongside an alleged accomplice, Tukur Sani.
Security operatives reportedly recovered 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition concealed inside a blue vehicle allegedly used by the suspects for transporting weapons.
Days later, another suspect, Alhaji Adamu, was arrested in Yauri. Investigators described him as a major arm$ supplier operating within the Kebbi axis.
Preliminary investigations, according to security sources, indicate that the five suspects served as arm$ couriers for the gunmen who attacked St. Mary's Catholic School in Papiri on November 21, 2025.
The attackers reportedly arrived on motorcycles in the early hours of the day and st0rmed the school before rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint and taking them away.
The arr3sts and weapons recovery are being viewed as a significant breakthrough in ongoing eff0rts by security agencies to dismantle kidnapping and arm$ trafficking networks operating across parts of northern Nigeria.
Investigations are continuing, with auth0rities working to uncover additional members of the syndicate and their wider connections.
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