Abuja, Nigeria — November 14, 2025
The Department of State Services (DSS) has successfully rearrested Abdulazeez Obadaki, a high-profile Ansaru terrorist, who escaped during the Kuje Correctional Centre jailbreak in July 2022.
Obadaki, linked to the Islamic State–affiliated Ansaru network, had been on the run for over two years. He is accused of masterminding several deadly attacks, including bank raids in Uromi, Edo State, and the fatal shooting at Deeper Life College in Okene, Kogi State, both carried out in 2022.
He was among 879 inmates who fled the Kuje prison when armed insurgents launched a coordinated assault on July 5, 2022. That jailbreak remains one of Nigeria’s most serious prison security failures, involving Islamist militants.
Security sources say that the DSS carried out an “intelligence-led” operation to recapture Obadaki. His arrest marks a significant counter-terrorism victory for Nigerian security agencies, underlining renewed momentum in the fight against Ansaru.
This rearrest also comes in the context of ongoing terrorism-related prosecutions by the DSS: several top-ranked Ansaru leaders are currently on trial for a range of terror offences, including the Kuje prison break.