DSS has recaptured fugitive Ansaru Commander Behind 2012 Kogi Church Massacre and Uromi Bank attacks.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Department of State Services (DSS) has re-arrested a notorious commander of the Ansaru terrorist group, Abdulazeez Obadaki also known as “Bomboy” who is accused of masterminding multiple deadly attacks, including the August 7, 2012 massacre at a Deeper Life Bible Church near Okene, Kogi State.
At least 19 worshippers, including the pastor, were slaughtered when three armed terrorists stormed the church during an evening service and opened fire with AK-47 rifles.
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Security sources told Vanguard that Obadaki, who also coordinated the violent bank raids in Uromi, Edo State where armed assailants attacked five commercial banks in a single operation was initially arrested years ago but escaped during the July 2022 jailbreak at Kuje Custodial Centre.
He reportedly confessed to helping plan the Kuje prison break shortly after being transferred from Kabba Custodial Centre in June 2022, confirming long-held suspicions of insider coordination.
DSS operatives, acting on what sources described as a “well-oiled intelligence operation,” tracked and recaptured Obadaki on Friday morning, ending more than three years of his evasion of security forces.
His arrest comes just weeks after the DSS arraigned five suspects linked to the 2022 bomb and gun attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which left scores dead and many more wounded.
Obadaki’s network has also been blamed for the February 2022 daylight assaults on several Uromi banks, where police officers and civilians were killed and hundreds of millions of naira carted away.
In recent months, the DSS has intensified nationwide operations, making significant breakthroughs against terrorists, violent criminals, and their financiers, with the current leadership pushing for faster prosecution of all suspects in custody.