DSS Arrests Alleged Mastermind of Kogi Church Attack

DSS Arrests Alleged Mastermind of Kogi Church Attack

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested Shafiu Usman, identified as the alleged mastermind behind the December 14, 2025 attack on the ECWA Church in Ayetoro, Kogi State, where over 20 worshippers were kidnapped.

Security sources revealed that Usman was apprehended at a hideout in Gombe State, where he had reportedly been hiding following the church attack.

According to officials, Usman confessed during interrogation to orchestrating the Ayetoro church attack and admitted involvement in other kidnappings across Niger, Kwara and Zamfara States, who allegedly supplied him with arms and ammunition.

“Shafiu admitted to involvement in kidnapping, banditry, and cattle rustling. He said Ibrahim Battijo supplied him with arms and ammunition,” a security source said.

The DSS source added, “After the Kogi attack, Usman fled to Gombe, but DSS operatives trailed and arrested him.”

Officials described the arrest as a significant milestone in ongoing operations to tackle terrorism and banditry. “This arrest underscores the DSS’s ongoing achievements in tackling banditry and terrorism, including recent operations in Gombe State that neutralized arms trafficking networks, rescued kidnap victims, and dismantled cross-state syndicates,” the source said.

The agency assured the public that efforts to curb kidnappings and related crimes across the North-central and North-western states would continue, emphasizing inter-state coordination and intelligence-led operations as key strategies.

Authorities said Usman would face prosecution for his role in the Ayetoro church attack and other criminal activities linked to him.