Kaduna gov praises DSS for busting bandits, gunrunners
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing Oluwatosin Ajayi as Director General of the Department of State Services, citing the agency’s recent successes in tackling security challenges across the country.
The governor made this statement after the DSS Kaduna State Command carried out 34 successful operations, leading to the arrest of 54 suspects and the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition.
Sani who spoke through the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Sule Shuaibu (SAN), expressed delight with the successes recorded by the 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 while speaking to journalists shortly after his visit to the DSS Command Headquarters in Kaduna on Sunday, also commended the service under the leadership of Ajayi for its synergy and close collaborations with other security agencies.
According to the commissioner, the DSS operatives carried out 34 successful operations in the state, resulting in the arrest of eight suspected bandits, 22 suspected informants, four gunrunners, two human traffickers, four cyber fraudsters, and two vandals.
He revealed that the DSS operatives have recorded tremendous successes, including the arrest of 54 suspects and the recovery of scores of rifles, pump-action guns, and several thousand rounds of ammunition within the first quarter of 2025.
“Some of the recovered arms and ammunition include five AK-47 rifles, one GPMG, three RPG guns, and 5,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres. The DSS also rescued 79 kidnap victims who are now in the custody of the state government,” he said.
Our correspondent gathered that the arrested suspects, included a security operative serving in Zamfara State, who disclosed that he often steals ammunition meant to fight bandits in Zamfara and environs and sell same to the bandits.
“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,” a security source disclosed.
Another suspect, a gunrunner, according to a security source, was arrested with 500 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition, which he planned to sell for ₦1.5 million to one Suleiman in the troubled Birnin Gwari area of Kaduna State.
A third 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 have 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 Agency 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. They warned that such stockpiles could lead to provocation and reignite conflict in Warri.
