The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested the sixth suspect linked to the horrific June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where ISWAP gunmen killed over 40 worshippers and injured many more on Pentecost Sunday.
The suspect, Sani Yusuf, a high-ranking commander in the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), had been on the run for nearly four years one of Nigeria’s most wanted in connection with the massacre.
Security sources say Yusuf was tracked and arrested in Iguosa community, along the Powerline axis in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.
After the Owo attack, he reportedly fled first to Kano before settling quietly in the remote Edo village to evade detection.
In custody, Yusuf has confessed to his role in planning and executing the Owo church massacre.
He also admitted involvement in several other ISWAP operations, including:
The July 2022 attack on Suleja military barracks in Niger State
The Zuma Rock checkpoint assault near Abuja, which claimed the lives of five soldiers
Multiple kidnapping incidents in Kaduna State and nearby areas
Sources added that Yusuf operated under senior ISWAP figures, including Abu Ikirimah, who was arrested by the DSS in 2024.
The agency is already prosecuting five other suspects in the Owo case: Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47), all facing terrorism-related charges.
“This arrest is a major step toward justice for the Owo victims, the slain soldiers at Zuma Rock, and it demonstrates the DSS’s unwavering commitment to dismantling terrorism networks,” a security source stated.
The capture has been described as a significant victory in the long pursuit of accountability for one of Nigeria’s deadliest church attacks.
Further updates on his arraignment and possible joinder to the existing trial are awaited.
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