The Department of State Services has rearrested Abdulazeez Obadaki, a wanted member of the Ansaru terror group and one of the over 800 inmates who escaped during the July 2022 attack on the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that Obadaki, described by security sources as a “high-value terror operative,” was apprehended during a Friday morning operation. He had been on the run for more than three years.
Obadaki was linked to major terror-related crimes before his escape, including coordinated bank attacks in Uromi, Edo State, and the fatal shooting at Deeper Life College, Okene, Kogi State, in 2022.
Security sources said he had continued to operate within a network of Ansaru cells believed to have regrouped in parts of Nigeria’s North-Central.
His arrest adds to recent breakthroughs by security agencies targeting the leadership of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-linked faction responsible for kidnappings, prison attacks and targeted assassinations.
In August, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, announced the arrest of two top Ansaru commanders believed to be the masterminds of the Kuje prison break — Mahmud Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a), the group’s self-styled emir, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri.
Ribadu had disclosed that the intelligence-driven operation, carried out between May and July 2025 in collaboration with the military and other security units, “decapitated the command structure” of the group.
The operation targeted Ansaru hideouts across Kainji National Park, spanning Niger and Kwara states, with cells reportedly extending into neighbouring Benin Republic.
Both commanders were accused of orchestrating several high-profile attacks, including the Kuje jailbreak, an attempted strike on a Niger uranium site, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 kidnapping of Magajin Garin Daura, and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
Security officials say Obadaki’s arrest further seals the collapse of the network that executed the brazen 2022 prison attack, which remains one of Nigeria’s most embarrassing security breaches.
The DSS is expected to issue an official statement in the coming days.
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