The Department of State Services (DSS) has initiated terrorism prosecutions against seven senior commanders of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) allegedly linked to Finland-based separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa. The charges were filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, marking another major step in the government’s efforts to disrupt the group’s activities.
The suspects are being tried in three different suits—FHC/ABJ/CR/632/2025, FHC/ABJ/CR/633/2025, and FHC/ABJ/CR/634/2025—submitted on 19 November, in which they are accused of receiving both financial and material support from Ekpa and other foreign-based members of the proscribed organisation. According to the DSS, one of the defendants, Ibrahim Ali Larabo, faces allegations of terrorism financing. Investigators describe Larabo as an undocumented immigrant from the Republic of Niger who operated an unlicensed Bureau de Change business in Nigeria. Through this unlawful operation, he allegedly handled significant financial transactions on behalf of the Ekpa-led faction of IPOB, moving large amounts of money that were ultimately used to fund violent activities attributed to the group in the southeast.
The intelligence agency maintains that the individuals charged are not mere sympathisers but established IPOB commanders, arms suppliers, couriers, Eastern Security Network (ESN) fighters, and operational foot soldiers who received orders and funding from Ekpa, who himself has been convicted of terrorism-related offences in Finland and is currently serving a six-year prison sentence.
In a statement released by Favour Dozie, Deputy Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications at the DSS, the agency also provided updates on several ongoing and concluded terrorism-related cases it has handled across different Nigerian courts. The statement highlighted the successful prosecution of a notorious terrorist identified as Ismaila, popularly called Mai Tangaran, who was responsible for coordinating the 2012 attacks on the Police Headquarters in Bompai, Kano, as well as other critical establishments. These attacks left multiple victims injured and caused widespread fear.
The trial, which commenced in 2017, concluded on 18 November when Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered judgment. Ismaila, described as one of the leaders of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), was convicted on the four counts preferred against him under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act of 2013. Justice Nwite handed him a 15-year sentence on the first count and 20-year sentences each on the remaining three counts, all of which are to run concurrently.
The DSS further revealed that trials are ongoing in the cases involving two individuals on international terrorist watchlists, identified as Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Mamuda, and Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Baara. Their matter is before Justice Nwite and is scheduled to resume on 15 January 2026. The agency also provided an update on the prosecution of Khalid Al-Barnawi, accused of masterminding the bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja on 26 August 2011. Al-Barnawi, along with four co-defendants, is standing trial for his alleged role in the attack, which remains one of the deadliest terror incidents in Nigeria’s recent history.
Another set of five suspects has been charged before the Federal High Court in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025. These defendants are accused of participating in the June 5, 2022, massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, an attack that drew national and international condemnation due to its brutality. Meanwhile, the DSS is also prosecuting ten individuals arrested over deadly assaults in Benue and Plateau states. Their arrests followed a direct order from President Bola Tinubu instructing security agencies to track down and apprehend those responsible for the widespread killings and destruction in the affected communities.
The statement further disclosed that the agency is preparing to arraign two additional high-profile suspects. One of them, Abdulazeez Obadaki, popularly known as Bomboy, is described as a prominent ISWAP figure with international links. According to the DSS, he confessed to orchestrating the attacks on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo and the Deeper Life Church in Okene. The second suspect, Musa Abubakar, was apprehended in Plateau State and is believed to be a major manufacturer and supplier of weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups. His arrest is regarded as a significant step in curbing the flow of illegal arms used in deadly operations across the country.
The update concluded by noting that when the Director-General of the DSS, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, assumed office in August 2024, he immediately instructed a comprehensive review of all terrorism-related cases inherited by the Service. Ajayi also ordered that extensive forensic investigations be carried out to strengthen the evidential base of each case, ensuring that prosecutions proceed diligently and in full compliance with Nigerian law.
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