The Department of State Services (DSS) has apprehended five individuals, among them two Nigerien nationals, suspected of serving as arms couriers for the gunmen who attacked St. Mary's Catholic school in Papiri village, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State on November 21, 2025.
According to security analyst Zagazola Makama, a significant cache of weapons, including 15 AK rifles and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition, was recovered from the two men.
One Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature, who is on the wanted list of the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (Boko Haram) terror organization, along with his accomplice Mubarak Ibrahim, were arrested on the Zaria-Kaduna highway while en route to collect a consignment of arms for their commanders.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Goni Ibrahim, an international arms courier from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic.
Arrested alongside Ibrahim was Tukur Sani, identified as his accomplice. Security sources disclosed that concealed in an unnamed blue car the men were traveling in were 15 AK-103 rifles, 15 magazines, and 1,434 rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition.
Days after these arrests, another member of the arms courier syndicate, identified as Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe, who is known for supplying arms in the Kebbi axis, was arrested in Yauri, Kebbi State.
Security sources revealed that preliminary investigations established that the five men served as arms couriers to the gunmen who carried out the November 2025 attacks on the Catholic boarding school in Papiri.
LIB reported that dozens of gunmen on motorcycles stormed the Catholic primary and secondary boarding school in the early hours of November 21, 2025, rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint.
While about 50 of the children managed to escape in the chaos that greeted the attack, over 250 others were marched for days into the Kainji Lake Reserve forest.
After more than a month following the attack, on December 21, 2025, the federal government and Niger state officials confirmed the rescue and safe return of the remaining 130 captives, with government officials confirming that not a single pupil remained in captivity.
