The Department of State Services has dismantled what officials describe as a high value arms supply network believed to be behind a series of violent attacks in Yelwata, Plateau State, and other troubled parts of the North, following the arrest of a key suspect, Musa Abubakar, during a targeted operation on November 12, 2025.
According to report, Abubakar, long suspected of manufacturing and distributing weapons to armed groups, was arrested after intelligence traced him to an arms-fabricating workshop in the Mista Ali area of Bassa Local Government Area. The operation followed days of covert surveillance on his residence and workshop as operatives monitored his movements and activities.
The source noted that Abubakar has already admitted to producing and supplying high calibre weapons and ammunition to criminal gangs responsible for attacks in Plateau and neighbouring states. DSS operatives reportedly recovered components of improvised explosive devices, chemicals, tools and other materials used for weapons production from the workshop.
“The suspect confessed to having manufactured and distributed high calibre weapons and ammunition to armed groups involved in violent attacks in Plateau State and other northern regions,” the source said. “He was apprehended red handed with various IED components, chemicals and equipment, all of which have been confiscated.”
Security officials believe Abubakar’s arrest cuts off a critical supply channel to several armed groups operating across the North-Central and parts of the North-West. His workshop, sources said, served as a discreet distribution hub for locally crafted weapons smuggled through informal routes into conflict-prone communities.
A top security officer familiar with the operation said the breakthrough is part of an ongoing push by the DSS to degrade terror cells and disrupt the logistics supporting recent attacks. The arrest, he noted, comes less than a week after operatives re-captured Abdulazeez Obadaki, also known as Bomboy, a Kuje Prison escapee accused of masterminding the Owo and Deeper Life Church attacks.
“These consecutive arrests show the service’s increased focus on targeting not just foot soldiers but the suppliers, financiers and coordinators who sustain these networks,” the operative said.
It will be recalled that the DSS earlier arrested nine high profile suspects linked to the Plateau and Benue attacks, including 46 year old Timna Manjol, who has already pleaded guilty to two of four counts of illegal firearms possession in a case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/451/2025.
Tosin Oshoba a Security analysts say the arrest of Abubakar, if followed by dismantling other linked cells, could significantly weaken the capacity of armed groups responsible for persistent clashes, ambushes and community attacks in Plateau and surrounding states. The region has, in recent months, witnessed renewed violence, with weapons proliferation identified as a key driver.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing to identify Abubakar’s supply chain, collaborators, buyers and the full reach of his operations. A security official said more arrests were likely as operatives pursue leads obtained during interrogation.