The Department of State Services (DSS) says it has dismantled a major arms supply network believed to be fuelling deadly attacks in Plateau State and surrounding regions, and has arrested a suspected weapons manufacturer at the centre of the operation.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the intelligence agency confirmed that its operatives apprehended the suspect, identified as Musa Abubakar, on November 12, 2025, after a covert operation triggered by what it described as “precise and credible intelligence.”
According to the DSS, Abubakar allegedly produced and supplied high-calibre weapons, ammunition, and explosive components to armed groups responsible for recurring violence in Plateau and other northern states.
“His workshop was uncovered in the Mista Ali area of Bassa Local Government Area, where operatives reportedly found a cache of materials used in weapons production”, DSS said.
According to the agency, recovered items included components of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), chemicals, and fabricating equipment believed to have been used to manufacture arms distributed to violent groups.
“Operatives of the Department of State Services have successfully disrupted a high-target arms supply network linked to terrorist activities in Plateau and neighbouring states.
“The operation led to the arrest of Musa Abubakar, a key arms dealer, following precise intelligence on November 12, 2025″, the statement read.
The DSS said Abubakar has confessed to manufacturing and distributing weapons that enabled attacks across the North, particularly in Plateau, where communities have suffered repeated assaults from armed groups.
It noted that his arrest comes amid intensified crackdowns by the secret police on violent networks.
Read also: DSS re-arrests terrorist linked to 2022 Uromi bank attacks, Kuje jailbreak
Recently, the service recaptured Abdulazeez Obadaki, popularly known as Bomboy, a fugitive who escaped during the 2022 Kuje Prison jailbreak and is accused of involvement in the Owo church attack and the Deeper Life College shooting in Okene, Kogi State.
The DSS had also announced the arrest of nine other suspects linked to violent activities, including 46-year-old Timna Manjol, as part of what it described as ongoing efforts to disrupt criminal networks threatening national security.
The agency said investigations into Abubakar’s operations and the broader network of collaborators are ongoing.
