The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected members of an arms trafficking network, including two foreign nationals from Niger Republic, over their alleged links to the mass abduction at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
Security sources revealed that the suspects were captured during a series of intelligence-driven operations that also led to the seizure of a large quantity of weapons and ammunition.
Items recovered during the operation reportedly include 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition.
Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, popularly known as Bature, and his associate, Mubarak Ibrahim. Investigators claim the pair were intercepted along the Kaduna-Zaria highway while allegedly travelling to receive a shipment of weapons intended for terrorist commanders.
Further investigations led operatives to two additional suspects identified as Goni Ibrahim, said to be an international arms trafficker from the Diffa region of Niger Republic, and Tukur Sani, who was allegedly working with him.
Security officials disclosed that the weapons were hidden inside a blue vehicle being used by the suspects during their movement.
In a separate operation, DSS operatives also arrested another suspected arms supplier, Alhaji Adamu, widely known as Gado Banufe, in Yauri, Kebbi State. Authorities believe he played a key role in supplying weapons to criminal groups operating in the region.
Preliminary findings suggest that the five suspects were involved in providing weapons and logistical support to the gunmen who attacked St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri in November 2025.
The attack, which shocked the country, saw dozens of heavily armed men storm the school and abduct hundreds of students and staff members.
Although some pupils managed to escape during the incident, more than 250 victims were reportedly taken into forest areas around Kainji Lake National Park, where they were held for weeks.
Government officials later confirmed that all the abducted students were eventually rescued and reunited with their families after security operations intensified.
The latest arrests are being viewed as a significant breakthrough in ongoing efforts to dismantle arms supply networks linked to terrorism, banditry and large-scale kidnapping operations across northern Nigeria.