The Department of State Services has re-apprehended a senior commander of the Ansaru terrorist group, Abdulazeez Obadaki—also known as “Bomboy”—who is believed to have led the deadly attack on a Deeper Life Bible Church near Okene, Kogi State, on August 7, 2012.
The arrest was announced in a statement posted on the official X handle of the Government of Nigeria.
At least 19 worshippers, including the church’s pastor, were killed in the coordinated shooting, during which three gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the church and opened fire on congregants. Several others sustained life-threatening injuries.
Security insiders revealed that Obadaki had also allegedly coordinated a string of violent robberies targeting five commercial banks in Uromi, Edo State.
“He was initially arrested after the Uromi attacks but escaped during the Kuje Custodial Centre jailbreak in July 2022,” one security source disclosed.
According to the source, Obadaki has confessed to playing a central role in the Kuje prison attack, which occurred shortly after his transfer from Kabba Custodial Centre.
“He admitted to masterminding the operation that led to the escape of numerous high-profile inmates,” the official added.
The DSS reportedly tracked and re-arrested the fugitive early Friday morning following what authorities described as a “high-level intelligence-driven operation.”
His capture comes barely two months after the agency paraded five suspects connected to the 2022 attack on a Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The February 2022 daytime bank raids in Uromi, attributed to Obadaki’s network, left several police officers and civilians dead, while hundreds of millions of naira were carted away, causing widespread panic across the area.
Security analysts say the DSS has recorded significant breakthroughs in recent months. “The Service is steadily tightening the noose on terror networks nationwide,” another security officer noted, praising the agency’s leadership for “accelerating the prosecution of arrested suspects.”
The DSS is expected to provide further updates as investigations continue.
