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 hundreds of students and staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri Community, Niger State.
Security sources disclosed that the suspects were allegedly involved in supplying weapons to the gunmen responsible for the attack on the Catholic boarding school on November 21, 2025.
Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, a suspected member of Boko Haram, and his accomplice, Mubarak Ibrahim. The duo was reportedly intercepted along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while on their way to collect a consignment of arms intended for terrorist commanders.
Further investigations led security operatives to arrest Goni Ibrahim, an alleged international arms courier from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic, and his accomplice, Tukur Sani.
According to the sources, a search of a blue vehicle used by the suspects uncovered a cache of weapons, including 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition concealed inside the car.
Days later, operatives also arrested another suspected member of the arms trafficking network, Alhaji Adamu, popularly known as Gado Banufe, who is believed to have supplied arms to criminal groups operating around the Kebbi axis.
Preliminary investigations reportedly established that the five suspects served as arms couriers for the gunmen who carried out the mass abduction at St. Mary’s Catholic School.
The attack occurred in the early hours of November 21, 2025, when dozens of armed men riding motorcycles stormed the primary and secondary boarding school, rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint.
Security agencies say investigations are ongoing as efforts continue to dismantle the network behind the attack and bring all those involved to justice.
