DSS Arrests Five Arms Couriers Linked to Papiri School Kidnap
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers, including two foreign nationals, in connection with the November 2025 mass abduction at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
In a statement, the DSS said the suspects were responsible for supplying weapons to the gunmen who carried out the attack, during which nearly 300 students and staff members were abducted.
According to the service, the operation began with the interception of three suspects along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while they were allegedly on their way to receive a consignment of weapons.
A subsequent raid led to the arrest of an international arms courier, Goni Ibrahim, from the Diffa Region of the Republic of Niger, and his associate, Tukur Sani. During the operation, DSS operatives recovered 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition concealed in their vehicle.
The agency disclosed that another suspected member of the syndicate, Alhaji Adamu, popularly known as Gado Banufe, was arrested days later in Yauri, Kebbi State.
Preliminary investigations, according to the DSS, indicate that the suspects played a key role in supplying arms to the gunmen behind the Papiri school attack, regarded as one of the most notorious mass kidnappings in Nigeria in recent years.
The November 21, 2025 attack saw heavily armed men invade the Catholic boarding school and abduct hundreds of students and teachers. Although some victims managed to escape during the raid, more than 250 students and staff were reportedly taken into the Kainji Lake Reserve forest by the attackers.
The DSS said investigations are ongoing as efforts continue to dismantle the network responsible for the abduction and related criminal activities.
