DSS Arrests 5 Suspects, Including 2 Nigeriens, Over Papiri School Kidnap, Recovers 15 AK Rifles, 1,434 Rounds of Ammunition

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers, including two foreign nationals from Niger Republic, in connection with the abduction of nearly 300 students and staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri village, Niger State.

According to credible security sources, the suspects were linked to gunmen who attacked the school on November 21, 2025, carrying out one of the most significant mass kidnappings in the state.

Security sources disclosed that a large cache of weapons was recovered during the operation, including 15 AK-47 rifles and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition.

Among those arrested are Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, who is reportedly on the list of wanted members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, commonly known as Boko Haram, and his alleged accomplice, Mubarak Ibrahim.

The sources said the two suspects were intercepted on the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while travelling to collect a consignment of arms intended for their commanders.

A follow-up operation by DSS operatives led to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, described as an international arms courier from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic. He was apprehended alongside Tukur Sani, who was identified as his accomplice.

Days after the arrests, added the security sources, yet another member of the arms courier syndicate, identified as Alhaji Adamu aka Gado Banufe, known to be supplying arms around the Kebbi axis, was arrested in Yauri, Kebbi State.
The security sources disclosed that preliminary investigations established that the five men served as arms couriers to the gunmen who carried out the November 2025 attacks on the Catholic boarding school in Papiri.

Dozens of gunmen on motorcycles had in the wee hours of November 21, 2025, stormed the Catholic primary and secondary boarding school, rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint.

While about 50 of the children managed to escape in the chaos that greeted the attack, over 250 others were marched for days into the Kainji Lake Reserve forest.

After slightly over a month after the attack, on December 21, 2025, the federal government and Niger state officials confirmed the rescue and safe return of the remaining 130 captives, with government officials confirming that not a single pupil remained in captivity.