The Department of State Services (DSS) has successfully re-arrested a top commander of the Ansaru terrorist group, Abdulazeez Obadaki, alias Bomboy, believed to be the mastermind of the August 7, 2012 attack on a Deeper Life Bible Church near Okene, Kogi State.
The brutal assault, carried out by three gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles during a night worship service, left at least 19 worshippers — including the presiding pastor — dead, with many others severely injured. The attack drew nationwide outrage and was widely condemned as one of the most heinous acts of terror in the region.
Security sources have confirmed that Obadaki not only coordinated the 2012 church massacre but also played a central role in the February 2022 coordinated bank robberies in Uromi, Edo State. The robberies claimed the lives of several police officers and civilians and resulted in the theft of hundreds of millions of naira.
Originally apprehended years earlier, Obadaki escaped from lawful custody during the July 2022 attack on the Kuje Custodial Centre. He is now said to have confessed to masterminding the jailbreak after his transfer from the Kabba Custodial Centre in June 2022.
After more than three years on the run, DSS operatives tracked and recaptured the fugitive early Friday morning in what officials described as a “meticulously coordinated, intelligence-led operation.”
His re-arrest comes just two months after the Service arraigned five suspects implicated in the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
In recent months, the DSS has recorded notable successes in counterterrorism operations across the country, with the current leadership intensifying efforts to ensure timely prosecution of arrested terror suspects.
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