Community leaders in Katsina and Nasarawa states have commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for the arrest of an alleged arms trafficking kingpin, Abubakar Mubarak, and the dismantling of a network suspected of supplying weapons to terrorists operating across the two states.
The community leaders, who spoke separately with newsmen, said Mubarak was arrested on Tuesday by DSS operatives in Magabar Jibia, Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
They said the suspect, believed to be about 28 years old, hails from Mashema Village in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The leaders, who declined to have their names published for security reasons, said the operation had exposed an extensive arms-trafficking network allegedly stretching across several northern states and supplying weapons to terrorist groups.
One of the community leaders in Jibia LGA said the arrest had brought relief to residents who, according to him, had endured years of attacks and insecurity allegedly linked to the activities of the network.
“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,” the leader said through an interpreter.
“We are, however, thankful that the Almighty Allah has used the DSS to bring their reign of terror to an end,” he added.
A leader of one of the communities near Keffi, in Nasarawa State, said they were grateful to the DSS for nabbing an arms courier, Ismail Lawalli, on Sunday evening, along the Keffi–Abuja Highway in Nasarawa State.
The community leader, a retired security agent, disclosed that Lawalli, also a native of Mashema village, was nabbed by DSS operatives 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 revealed that the courier admitted to conveying the ammunition to Mubarak, who had allegedly paid for the haulage, a confession that led operatives to the kingpin in Katsina State.
He also revealed that Mubarak’s elder brother, Mustapha Abubakar, was arrested earlier this year in Gusau, capital of Zamfara State, also in connection with arms trafficking.
“Mustapha Abubakar was arrested by DSS operatives earlier this year at Gusau, with one AK-47 rifle and 20 rounds of ammunition.
“The suspects are currently in custody of the DSS for further investigation. Like in similar instances, they will be prosecuted by the agency,” hinted the community leader who hailed the DSS for the operational successes.
“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 would soon be a thing of the past,” he declared.