Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Shafiu Usman, the alleged mastermind behind the deadly attack on ECWA Church in Ayetoro, Kogi State, where over 20 worshippers were kidnapped on December 14, 2025.
A security source disclosed that Usman was nabbed at a hideout in Gombe State, where he had been lying low. During interrogation, he confessed to orchestrating the Ayetoro church attack, as well as other kidnappings in Niger, Kwara, and Kogi States.
Usman revealed that he collaborated with Ibrahim Dange Battijo, a notorious bandit operating across Niger, Kwara, Kogi, and Zamfara States.
According him, “Shafiu admitted to involvement in kidnapping, banditry, and cattle rustling. He said Ibrahim Battijo supplied him with arms and ammunition. After the Kogi attack, Usman fled to Gombe, but DSS operatives trailed and arrested him.
“This arrest underscores the DSS’s ongoing achievements in tackling banditry and terrorism, including recent operations in Gombe State that neutralized arms trafficking networks, rescued kidnap victims, and dismantled cross-state syndicates.”
The suspect remains in DSS custody awaiting arraignment.
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