The Department of State Services (DSS) has re-arrested Abdulazeez Obadaki, the suspected mastermind behind the deadly 2022 Uromi bank robberies in Edo State, nearly three months after his escape during the July 5, 2022, Kuje Medium Custodial Centre jailbreak.

The "high-value and highly dangerous fugitive," also implicated in the fatal shooting at Deeper Life College in Okene, Kogi State, was captured in a joint intelligence-led operation, boosting Nigeria's counter-terrorism drive.

Obadaki's recapture follows the August arrests of two top Ansaru leaders – the Boko Haram splinter group notorious for kidnappings and attacks – announced by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. The duo includes Abu Baraa (Mahmud Muhammad Usman, self-styled emir and coordinator of nationwide sleeper cells) and Mahmuda (Mahmud al-Nigeri, Mallam Mamuda, "Chief of Staff" of the "Mahmudawa" cell operating in Kainji National Park fringes across Niger, Kwara, and Benin Republic).

Ribadu had described them as architects of high-profile ops, including the 2013 Francis Collomp abduction in Katsina and 2019 Alhaji Musa Umar Uba kidnapping in Daura.

Baraa, trained in Libya (2013-2015) by jihadists from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, and Mahmuda, both on Nigeria's most-wanted list, funded terrorism via robberies. "They orchestrated brazen attacks – Kuje, uranium facility hits," Ribadu said at the briefing.