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Community leaders in Katsina and Nasarawa states have commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for arresting an alleged arms trafficking kingpin, Abubakar Mubarak, and dismantling a network suspected of supplying weapons to terrorists operating around the two states.
The leaders, who spoke in separate interviews with journalists, 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.
According to the leaders, the operation led to the uncovering of an alleged arms trafficking chain stretching across several northern states.
“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. We are, however, thankful that the Almighty Allah has used the DSS to bring their reign of terror to an end,” a community leader in Jibia LGA said through an interpreter.
A community leader from the Keffi area of Nasarawa State also commended the DSS for arresting an alleged arms courier, Ismail Lawalli, along the Keffi-Abuja Highway on Sunday evening.
The leader, a retired security agent, said Lawalli, who is also from Mashema Village, was arrested 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 said the suspect allegedly admitted that he was transporting the ammunition to Mubarak, who had reportedly paid for the consignment.
According to him, the information obtained from Lawalli led DSS operatives to Mubarak in Katsina State.
The community leader further disclosed that Mubarak’s elder brother, Mustapha Abubakar, was arrested earlier this year in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, in connection with alleged 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. (The Nation)
