Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested one Shafiu Usman, the alleged mastermind behind the deadly attack on ECWA Church in Ayetoro, Kogi State, where over 20 worshippers were kidnapped on December 14, 2025.
Security sources disclosed that Usman was nabbed at a hideout in Gombe State, where he had been lying low.
The source further said that during interrogation, Usman confessed to orchestrating the Ayetoro church attack, as well as other kidnappings in Niger, Kwara, and Kogi States.
Usman also revealed that he collaborated with one Ibrahim Dange Battijo, a notorious bandit operating across Niger, Kwara, Kogi, and Zamfara States.
The security source said; “Shafiu Usman admitted to involvement in kidnapping, banditry, and cattle rustling. He also confessed that Ibrahim Battijo supplied him with arms and ammunition”.
Forefront News gathered that after the Kogi attack, Usman fled to Gombe, but the operatives of DSS trailed and arrested him.
According to the security source; “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 suspect is presently in the custody of the DSS pending arraignment.
