Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Shafiu Usman, the alleged mastermind of the December 14, 2025 attack on ECWA Church in Ayetoro Kiri, Kogi State, where more than 20 worshippers were abducted during a service.
According to security sources, Usman was nabbed at a hideout in Gombe State, where he had been lying low.
During interrogation, he confessed to carrying out the Ayetoro Kiri church attack, as well as other kidnappings in Niger, Kwara, and Kogi States.
He was also said to have identified one Ibrahim Dange Battijo as a key collaborator. Battijo is reportedly a bandit leader operating across Niger, Kwara, Kogi and Zamfara states.
“Shafiu admitted to involvement in kidnapping, banditry and cattle rustling,” a security source said. “He said Ibrahim Battijo supplied him with arms and ammunition.”
Usman is now in DSS custody awaiting arraignment.
Security sources noted that the arrest of Usman underscores the DSS’s ongoing achievements in tackling banditry and terrorism.
He also noted that the secret police had in recent operations in Gombe State neutralized arms trafficking networks, rescued kidnap victims, and dismantled cross-state syndicates.
