Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested the sixth suspect linked to the St. Francis Catholic Church massacre of 2022, where over 40 worshippers were killed and dozens injured.
The suspect, identified as Sani Yusuf, a high-profile commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), was captured in the Iguosa community along Powerline, in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, after nearly four years on the run.
Security sources confirmed that Yusuf had been one of Nigeria’s most wanted fugitives since the deadly Owo church attack in Ondo State.
“For years, DSS operatives have been on his trail,” one source said. “He was finally tracked and arrested quietly in the Iguosa area, where he had been hiding.”
The source added that Yusuf initially fled to Kano State shortly after the Owo attack before relocating to the remote Edo community, where he attempted to live under a false identity.
According to DSS investigators, Yusuf has confessed to participating in the planning and execution of the Owo church massacre.
“He admitted his role in the Owo church attack, the Zuma Rock checkpoint assault, which claimed the lives of five soldiers, and several ISWAP kidnap operations,” the source revealed.
Another intelligence officer disclosed that Yusuf also confessed to being part of the July 2022 Suleja military barracks attack and multiple kidnappings in Kaduna State and its environs.
“Yusuf told investigators he served under several ISWAP commanders, including Abu Ikirimah, who was arrested by the DSS in 2024,” the source added.
The arrest marked a major milestone in the DSS’s ongoing counterterrorism operations and the quest for justice for victims of extremist violence across the country.
“This arrest is a significant victory for national security and for the families of those who lost their lives in Owo and other ISWAP attacks,” a senior security official said. “It demonstrates the DSS’s unrelenting commitment to dismantling terrorist networks and bringing perpetrators to justice.”
The DSS is currently prosecuting five other suspects; Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), for alleged involvement in the Owo church massacre.
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