From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Kaduna State Command of the Department of State Services (DSS) has carried out 34 successful operations in Kaduna State, leading to the arrest of 54 suspects, including serving security operatives.
The Service also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition.
This was even as the State Governor, Uba Sani, praised President Bola Tinubu for appointing Oluwatosin Ajayi as Director General of the DSS, saying the appointment has helped to reposition the DSS to tackle the country’s security challenges.
Gov Sani, who spoke through the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Sule Shuaibu (SAN), expressed delight with the successes recorded by the security Agency, noting that, the DSS operatives had in addition to the arrests, recovered scores of rifles, pump action guns and several thousand rounds of ammunition within the first quarter of 2025.
The Commissioner of Justice, who spoke to journalists shortly after his visit to the DSS Command Headquarters in Kaduna, also commended the Service under the leadership of Ajayi for its synergy and close collaborations with other security agencies.
He disclosed that, those arrested by the DSS within the period under review were:eight suspected bandits and 22 of their suspected informants, four gunrunners, two human traffickers, four cyber fraudsters, two vandals and 12 family members of suspected bandits.
“The arms and ammunitions recovered include: five AK-47 rifles, one GPMG, three RPGs guns and 5,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, while, 79 kidnap victims (now in the custody of the state government) were rescued by the DSS operatives.”
Our correspondent gathered that, of the arrested suspects, are :a security operative serving in Zamfara state, who disclosed that he often steals the ammunition meant to fight bandits in Zamfara and environs and sell same to the bandits.
As at the time of his arrest, the serving security personnel had on him 217 rounds of assorted ammunition he planned to sell for N4 million. One of the suspected gunrunners, according to a security source, revealed that he was arrested with 500 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition he planned to sell for N1.5 million to one Suleiman in troubled Birnin Gwari, Kaduna state.
Another suspect ,confessed that he was on his way to Katsina state to deliver 1,087 rounds of ammunition when DSS operatives nabbed him. His associate, who was arrested in Funtua, Katsina state, said he was to deliver 701 rounds of ammunition to Zamfara state.
Similarly, in Delta State, DSS operatives recovered over 50 AK-47 rifles, six pump-action shotguns, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition during a covert operation in Asaba, the state capital.
The service arrested a native serving in the British Army (name withheld), who allegedly procured the weapons.
The seizure and arrest have drawn commendations from Ijaw communities in Egbema, Gbaramatu, Isaba, and Ogbe-Ijoh kingdoms in the Warri Federal Constituency, who appealed to the Presidency to Investigate the arms seizure, warning that such stockpiles could lead to provocation and reignite conflict in Warri.