DSS re-arrests suspected Ansaru member linked to 2012 Okene church attack

The Department of State Services (DSS) has reportedly re-arrested a suspected member of the Ansaru terrorist group believed to be behind the deadly 2012 attack on a Deeper Life Church in Okene, Kogi State.

The suspect, identified as Abdul Obadaki, had earlier escaped from custody during a jailbreak but was recently tracked down and apprehended by security operatives.

Security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, revealed the development in a post on his X handle on Friday, noting that the re-arrest marks a significant breakthrough in ongoing counterterrorism operations.

“DSS Recaptures Ansaru Terrorist Jail-Breaker Who Masterminded The Attack on 2012 Deeperlife Church College,” Makama wrote.

According to the security analyst, security sources said Obadaki, who, after the church mass shooting, also allegedly masterminded another attack on five commercial banks in Uromi, Edo State, was arrested, but escaped during the July 2022 jailbreak at Kuje Custodial Centre.

Security sources disclosed that the suspected terrorist  leader confessed to orchestrating the Kuje Custodial centre jailbreak following his transfer from Kabba Custodial Centre in June 2022.

According to the sources, after over three years of being on the run, DSS operatives in a, well-oiled intelligence operation recaptured Obadaki aka Bomboy, on Friday morning.

This arrest comes barely two months after the secret police arraigned five suspects linked to the 2022  Catholic Church attack in Owo, Ondo State.

During the February 2022 daylight bank robberies in Uromi, Edo State, which instilled widespread fear across the state, several policemen and bank customers were killed, while hundreds of millions of Naira was reportedly carted away.

The secret police has, of recent, been recording a chain of successes in the capture of terrorists and criminal elements across the nation, with its new leadership fast-tracking the trial of the arrested suspects