DSS Recaptures Ansaru Terrorist Behind Mass Shooting in Okene Church

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The Department of State Services (DSS) has recaptured a top commander of the Ansaru terrorist group who is alleged to have masterminded the 7 August 2012 mass shooting of Christian worshippers at a Deeper Life Bible Church near Okene in Kogi State.

At least 19 worshippers, including the pastor, were killed and several others sustained varying degrees of injuries when three men armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the church and opened fire.

According to security sources, the suspected terrorist kingpin—who, after the church attack, also coordinated a violent assault on five commercial banks in Uromi, Edo State—was initially arrested but escaped during the July 2022 jailbreak at the Kuje Custodial Centre.

The sources further disclosed that the suspect later confessed to orchestrating the Kuje jailbreak following his transfer from the Kabba Custodial Centre in June 2022.

“After more than three years on the run, DSS operatives, acting on a well-coordinated intelligence operation, recaptured the fugitive on Friday morning. His rearrest comes barely two months after the agency arraigned five suspects linked to the 2022 Catholic Church attack in Owo, Ondo State, signalling a renewed momentum in the DSS’s counter-terrorism efforts.

During the February 2022 daylight bank robberies in Uromi, which created widespread panic across Edo State, several policemen and bank customers were killed, while hundreds of millions of naira were reportedly stolen. Recently, the DSS has recorded a series of breakthroughs in apprehending terrorists and other criminal elements nationwide, with its new leadership accelerating the prosecution of arrested suspects,” the source said.

Recall that two police officers and five civilians were killed when armed men attacked four banks in Uromi, Esan North-East LGA of Edo State.

The suspected terrorist is also believed to have attacked a police station in the Auchi area.

Confirming the incidents in a statement, the then spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command said: “Four banks were attacked. We lost two police officers, including a female constable from the division that was targeted, and a sergeant from Auchi.”