Four Years After Owo Massacre, DSS Arrests Alleged ISWAP Commander in Edo

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested the sixth suspect linked to the 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, where more than 40 worshippers were killed and several others injured.

The suspect, identified as Sani Yusuf, was apprehended on Tuesday night in Iguosa community along Powerline, Ovia North Local Government Area of Edo State, after nearly four years on the run.

The DSS is currently prosecuting five other suspects — Idris Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), Abdulhaleem Idris (25), and Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) — for allegedly carrying out acts of terrorism in connection with the attack.

Security sources described Yusuf as a high-profile commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). After the Owo church attack, he reportedly fled to Kano before relocating to the quiet Iguosa community in Edo State, where he remained in hiding.

According to the sources, Yusuf has confessed to his involvement in the planning and execution of the Owo church massacre. He also allegedly admitted participating in other ISWAP operations, including the July 2022 Suleja military barracks attack, the Zuma Rock checkpoint assault that claimed the lives of five soldiers, and multiple kidnapping operations in Kaduna State and its environs.

Further disclosures indicate that Yusuf operated under senior ISWAP commanders, including Abu Ikirimah, who was arrested by the DSS in 2024.

Officials described the arrest as a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the Owo attack and other acts of terrorism, underscoring the DSS’s sustained crackdown on extremist networks across the country.