The Department of State Services (DSS) arrested eight suspected bandits and 22 gunrunners in Kaduna State during the first quarter of 2025, as part of a broader crackdown on insecurity in Nigeria’s northwest.
The operation, detailed in a statement by DSS spokesperson Peter Afunanya on April 27, 2025, targeted criminal networks involved in banditry, kidnapping, and illegal arms trafficking across Kaduna’s Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and Igabi local government areas (LGAs). The arrests, conducted in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and local vigilante groups, followed intelligence reports linking the suspects to recent attacks on communities and highways, including the kidnapping of 15 travelers along the Kaduna-Abuja expressway in January 2025.
Among the eight suspected bandits, three were identified as key lieutenants of a notorious gang responsible for the February 2025 attack on Kuriga village, which left seven farmers dead. The DSS recovered 12 AK-47 rifles, 450 rounds of ammunition, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from their hideouts.
The 22 gunrunners, apprehended in a series of raids between January and March, were found with 76 firearms, including 45 locally fabricated pistols, 18 automatic rifles, and 1,200 rounds of assorted ammunition. Preliminary investigations revealed that the gunrunners operated a supply chain smuggling weapons from Niger and Mali through porous borders, fueling banditry and terrorism in the region. Two of the suspects, identified as Musa Abdullahi and Ibrahim Sani, confessed to supplying arms to Boko Haram factions in neighboring Zamfara State.
Afunanya emphasized the DSS’s commitment to dismantling criminal syndicates, noting that the suspects are undergoing interrogation and will face prosecution under Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention) Act. Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani commended the operation, urging residents to provide actionable intelligence to security agencies. However, local community leaders expressed concerns over the recurring attacks, with Alhaji Isa Mohammed, a Birnin Gwari elder, calling for increased military presence in rural areas.