Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers in connection with last year’s mass abduction at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri village, Niger State, one of the most significant school kidnappings in the country’s recent history.
The five suspects, including two Nigerien nationals, are believed to have served as arms couriers to the gunmen who, on November 21, 2025, attacked the Catholic boarding school in Papiri, abducting nearly 300 students and staff.
Security sources said the suspects were apprehended during a series of intelligence-led operations that also led to the recovery of 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of live 7.62mm ammunition.
In the early hours of November 21, 2025, dozens of heavily armed gunmen riding motorcycles stormed the Catholic primary and secondary boarding school in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, and abducted more than 300 students and staff members. While dozens of pupils escaped during the attack, hundreds were marched into the forests surrounding the Kainji Lake National Park.
After weeks in captivity, government authorities announced on December 21, 2025, that the remaining 130 abductees had been rescued and safely reunited with their families.
Those arrested were identified as Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature; Mubarak Ibrahim; Goni Ibrahim; Tukur Sani; and Alhaji Adamu, popularly called Gado Banufe.
According to credible security sources, Yusuf Mohammed, a wanted member of the Boko Haram terror organisation, and his accomplice Mubarak Ibrahim were arrested on the Zaria-Kaduna highway while on their way to collect a consignment of arms for their commanders. A follow up operation led to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, an international arms courier from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic.
Days after those arrests, yet another member of the arms courier syndicate identified as Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe who had been supplying arms around the Kebbi axis, was arrested in Yauri, Kebbi State.
Premium Times reported that the Sadiku led Boko Haram cell responsible for the Papiri attack was also linked to the recent abduction of more than 40 students and teachers from three schools in Oyo State connecting the Papiri case to a string of school attacks currently alarming the nation.
Security sources indicated that investigators are working to uncover the broader network that supplied weapons and support to the attackers. The arrests point to an organised cross-border logistics chain enabling armed groups to carry out large-scale operations deep within Nigerian territory.
The attack had sparked national concern and renewed calls for stronger security around schools, especially in vulnerable communities. The DSS has not yet issued an official public statement on the arrests, and it remains unclear when the suspects will be formally charged.
