Community leaders in Katsina and Nasarawa States have commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for the arrest of an alleged terrorist arms-supply kingpin, Abubakar Mubarak, and the dismantling of a network suspected of supplying weapons to terrorists across parts of the North.
The leaders, who spoke separately with journalists, said Mubarak was arrested on Tuesday by DSS operatives at Magabar Jibia, Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
According to them, the suspect, believed to be about 28 years old, hails from Mashema Village in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State. His arrest, they said, followed the interception of an alleged arms courier and has helped security operatives unravel a trafficking chain stretching across several northern states.
“We are very relieved and thankful to the DSS for arresting Mubarak. Many villagers are aware of the terror his men have been unleashing on us over the years. We are thankful that the Almighty Allah has used the DSS to bring their reign of terror to an end,” a community leader in Jibia LGA said through an interpreter.
Similarly, a community leader from an area near Keffi, Nasarawa State, commended the DSS for the arrest of an alleged arms courier, Ismail Lawalli, on Sunday evening along the Keffi-Abuja Highway.
The leader, a retired security operative, said Lawalli, also from Mashema Village, was arrested with 1,099 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 57 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and 106 rounds of General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) ammunition.
He alleged that Lawalli admitted conveying the ammunition to Mubarak, who had allegedly paid for the consignment. The confession, he said, subsequently led DSS operatives to the alleged kingpin in Katsina State.
The community leader further disclosed that Mubarak’s elder brother, Mustapha Abubakar, was arrested earlier this year in Gusau, Zamfara State, in connection with arms trafficking.
“Mustapha Abubakar was arrested by DSS operatives earlier this year in Gusau with one AK-47 rifle and 20 rounds of ammunition,” he said.
The suspects are currently in DSS custody for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Commending the security agency for the operation, the retired security operative said the arrest demonstrated the importance of sustained intelligence-led operations against illicit arms networks.
“I commend the DSS for being unrelenting in its resolve to track and dismantle illicit arms supply networks and other actors who fuel insecurity across the country.
“We hope that with the combined efforts of other security agencies, insecurity will soon become a thing of the past,” he said.
