The Department of State Services (DSS) has recaptured Abdulazeez Obadaki, a senior commander of the Ansaru terrorist group, who is believed to have orchestrated the deadly 2012 attack on worshippers at a Deeper Life Bible Church near Okene, Kogi State.

The attack, which occurred on August 7, 2012, claimed the lives of at least 19 people, including the church pastor, when gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the evening service.

Obadaki, also known by the alias “Bomboy,” reportedly coordinated a series of high-profile crimes, including the February 2022 armed raids on five commercial banks in Uromi, Edo State, which left several police officers and civilians dead and saw large sums of money stolen.

Sources revealed that Obadaki was previously detained but escaped during a jailbreak at the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja in July 2022. After being moved from Kabba Custodial Centre in June 2022, he confessed to playing a central role in planning the breakout.

DSS operatives, leveraging a targeted intelligence operation, successfully tracked and re-arrested him on Friday morning, ending more than three years of evasion.

This arrest follows recent DSS actions, including the prosecution of suspects linked to the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State. The agency has intensified its nationwide operations against terrorists, violent criminals, and their financiers under new leadership, aiming to fast-track the prosecution of those in custody.