Thirteen years after the August 7, 2012 mass shooting of Christian worshippers at a Deeper Life Bible Church near Okene in Kogi State, the Department of State Services (DSS) has recaptured a top commander of the Ansaru terrorist group, Abdulazeez Obadaki, believed to have masterminded the deadly attack.
During the incident, three gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the church during a service, killing at least 19 worshippers, including the pastor, and injuring several others.
Security sources revealed that Obadaki, who later allegedly coordinated another violent operation involving the robbery of five commercial banks in Uromi, Edo State, was initially arrested but escaped during the July 2022 Kuje Custodial Centre jailbreak.
He reportedly confessed to orchestrating the jailbreak shortly after being transferred from Kabba Custodial Centre in June 2022.
According to the sources, after more than three years on the run, DSS operatives rearrested Obadaki, also known as ‘Bomboy’, on Friday morning following a targeted intelligence-led operation.
His arrest comes less than two months after the DSS arraigned five suspects linked to the 2022 Catholic Church attack in Owo, Ondo State.
The February 2022 Uromi bank robberies, which Obadaki is also suspected of masterminding, left several police officers and bank customers dead, with hundreds of millions of naira reportedly stolen.
The rearrest of Obadaki adds to a growing list of high-profile breakthroughs recorded by the DSS, as the agency continues to tighten its grip on terrorist networks and fast-track ongoing prosecutions.
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