Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Shafiu Usman, believed to have masterminded the December 14, 2015 attack on the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) in Aiyetoro, Kogi State, where over 20 worshippers were kidnapped.
Security sources disclosed that Usman was nabbed at a hideout in Gombe State, where he had been lying low. During interrogation, he confessed to carrying out the Ayetoro church attack, as well as other kidnappings in Niger, Kwara, and Kogi States.
According to the source, Usman revealed that he collaborated with one Ibrahim Dange Battijo, said to be a notorious bandit operating across Niger, Kwara, Kogi, and Zamfara States.
“Shafiu admitted to involvement in kidnapping, banditry, and cattle rustling. He said Ibrahim Battijo supplied him with arms and ammunition,” the source stated.
“After the Kogi attack, Usman fled to Gombe where DSS operatives trailed him to, eventually arresting him,” stated the source, adding, “the suspect remains in DSS custody awaiting arraignment.
“This arrest underscores the DSS’s ongoing achievements in tackling banditry and terrorism in recent operations in Gombe and neighboring states. The Service neutralized arms trafficking networks, rescued kidnap victims, and dismantled cross-state syndicates,” he disclosed.
