The Department of State Services (DSS) has successfully recaptured the mastermind behind the deadly bank attacks in Uromi, Edo State, which occurred in 2022. The suspect, identified as Abdulazeez Obadaki, had previously escaped during a jailbreak at the medium custodial centre in Kuje, Abuja.
Obadaki is also linked to the fatal shooting at Deeper Life College in Okene, Kogi State.
This re-arrest comes nearly three months after the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, announced the apprehension of two individuals he identified as leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group.
At a press briefing in August, Ribadu revealed the identities of those arrested: Abu Baraa, the Amir, and Mahmuda, the deputy Amir.
“The first is Mahmud Muhammad Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled Emir of ANSARU. He is the coordinator of various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and has masterminded several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies to finance terrorism over the years.
“The second is Mahmud al-Nigeri (also referred to as Mallam Mamuda), Abu Bara’s proclaimed Chief of Staff and Deputy. He leads the so-called ‘Mahmudawa’ cell, hiding in and around Kainji National Park, spanning Niger and Kwara States up to the Benin Republic.
“Mamuda trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in weapons handling and IED fabrication,” the NSA stated.
Ribadu also noted that the two men had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years, having jointly orchestrated numerous attacks on civilians, security forces, and critical infrastructure.
He highlighted that their operations included the 2022 Kuje jailbreak, the assault on the Niger uranium facility, the 2013 kidnapping of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, and the abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba (Magajin Garin Daura) on 1 May 2019.
