DSS Arrests Five Arms Couriers, Foreign Nationals Linked to Papiri School Kidnap

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested five suspected arms couriers, including two foreign nationals, in connection with the November 2025 mass abduction at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.

According to a statement issued by the Service, the suspects allegedly supplied weapons to the gunmen responsible for the kidnapping of nearly 300 students and staff during the attack.
The operation commenced with the interception of three suspects along the Zaria–Kaduna Highway while they were reportedly en route to receive a consignment of weapons.

A subsequent raid led to the arrest of an international arms courier, Goni Ibrahim, from the Diffa Region of the Republic of Niger, and his accomplice, Tukur Sani. During the operation, DSS operatives recovered 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition concealed in their vehicle.
Days later, another suspected member of the syndicate, Alhaji Adamu, popularly known as Gado Banufe, was apprehended in Yauri, Kebbi State.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects were major suppliers of arms and ammunition to the criminal network behind the Papiri school abduction, regarded as one of the country’s most notorious mass kidnappings in recent years.

The November 21, 2025 attack saw heavily armed gunmen invade the Catholic boarding school and abduct hundreds of students and teachers. Although some victims escaped during the raid, more than 250 persons were reportedly taken into the Kainji Lake Reserve forest.
The DSS said investigations are ongoing to dismantle the wider network involved in the kidnapping and arms trafficking operation.