The Department of State Services (DSS) has apprehended five individuals allegedly connected to the attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri village, Niger State.
The school came under attack in November 2025 when armed bandits abducted 315 people, including 303 students and 12 teachers. While 50 students escaped within a day of the incident, the remaining victims regained their freedom in stages over subsequent weeks.
According to security analyst publication Zagazola Makama, those arrested include a suspected Boko Haram member and two Nigerien nationals believed to have supplied weapons to the attackers.
The publication reported that security operatives recovered a substantial cache of weapons from the suspects, including 15 AK-series rifles, magazines, and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition.
Citing security sources, Makama said Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, a wanted member of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram), was arrested alongside an associate, Mubarak Ibrahim, on the Zaria-Kaduna highway while allegedly en route to collect arms for insurgent commanders.
Further investigations reportedly led to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, described as an international arms courier from the Diffa region of Niger Republic, and his accomplice, Tukur Sani. Weapons and ammunition were allegedly concealed in a blue vehicle used by the suspects.
Security sources further disclosed that another suspected member of the arms trafficking network, Alhaji Adamu, popularly known as Gado Banufe, was later arrested in Yauri, Kebbi State. He is alleged to have supplied weapons to criminal groups operating in the region.
Preliminary investigations, according to the sources, indicate that the five suspects acted as arms couriers for the gunmen responsible for the November 2025 attack on the Catholic boarding school in Papiri.
