The Department of State Services (DSS) has recaptured Abdulazeez Obadaki, a wanted terrorist and one of the notorious escapees from the July 2022 Kuje prison break in the FCT. Over 800 inmates, including Boko Haram suspects fled when insurgents overran the facility.
Obadaki, a member of the Ansaru terror group, was arrested on Friday morning. He is accused of orchestrating the 2022 bank robberies in Uromi, Edo State, and the fatal shooting at Deeper Life College in Okene, Kogi State.
His arrest adds to the string of breakthroughs announced earlier by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who in August confirmed the capture of two senior Ansaru leaders linked to the Kuje jailbreak. Ribadu identified them as Mahmud Usman, the group’s self-styled emir, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri.
According to the NSA, the intelligence-driven operation that ran between May and July effectively dismantled the leadership of the Al-Qaeda-aligned group. The raids targeted Ansaru hideouts in and around Kainji National Park, stretching across Niger and Kwara states and extending into neighbouring Benin.
The arrested leaders are connected to multiple high-profile attacks, including the Kuje prison raid, an assault on a Niger uranium facility, the 2013 kidnap of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 abduction of Magajin Garin Daura Musa Uba, and the kidnapping of the Emir of Wawa.
Obadaki’s recapture marks another significant step in Nigeria’s ongoing crackdown on terror networks.
