Uromi Robbery Kingpin Abdulazeez Obadaki re-arrested after two years on the run

The Department of State Services (DSS) has rearrested Abdulazeez Obadaki, the suspected mastermind behind the deadly 2022 bank robberies in Uromi, Edo State.

Obadaki, who had earlier escaped from the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre during the infamous jailbreak, was also linked to the fatal shooting at Deeper Life College in Okene, Kogi State.

His arrest adds to earlier breakthroughs announced by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). At a security briefing in August, NSA Nuhu Ribadu confirmed the capture of top members of the ANSARU terrorist network, describing the arrests as a significant step in weakening the group’s operations across the country.

Ribadu revealed that the first suspect, Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, served as the self-acclaimed Emir of ANSARU and coordinated several terrorist sleeper cells nationwide.

He was identified as the brain behind multiple high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund extremism.

The second suspect, Mahmud al-Nigeri, also called Mallam Mamuda, was described as Abu Bara’a’s deputy and the head of the “Mahmudawa” cell operating around Kainji National Park along the Niger–Kwara corridor up to the Benin Republic.

Ribadu noted that Mamuda underwent specialised weapons and IED training between 2013 and 2015 in Libya under foreign jihadist instructors.

Both men, according to the NSA, had long been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for orchestrating attacks on civilians, security agencies, and key infrastructure.

Their network has been linked to major incidents including the 2022 Kuje jailbreak, the attack on the Niger uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, and the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura.

With Obadaki now back in custody, security agencies say investigations are ongoing to dismantle the remaining cells connected to the group.

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