How DSS bust Osun ISWAP sleeper cell

Details of the operations of the Department of State Services, which led to the arrest of 10 suspected members of Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province in Ilesa, Osun State, have been revealed.

The operation was carried out at an old bungalow building close to St. Mary Catholic Church, Ifofin, and Ogbon Idio, Ilesa, in the Ilesa-East Local Government Area of the state.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the raid happened around 1am on December 16, 2024, and was carried out by a team of DSS operatives numbering about 30.

News about the arrest of the suspects became public knowledge on January 10, when the DSS sought an order from a Federal High Court in Abuja to detain them for 60 days.

The suspects are Adamu Abubakar (aka Abu Aisha), Babagana Bashuli, Muhammed Adam, Mustapha Abacha, Katuru Muhammed, Babakura Abacha, Muhammed Ciroma, Ali Gambo, Muhammed Umoru, and Muhammed Bundi.

According to the DSS, the suspects were arrested while undergoing training on how to manufacture and detonate explosives, disclosing that its preliminary investigation revealed that the respondents were members of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group.

Our correspondents reliably gathered that the operation, which led to their arrest, lasted 90 days and was carried out by two different teams from the DSS headquarters.

The first team, according to sources, arrived in Ilesa in late September, while the second team arrived in mid-November 2024.

“Osun command was not involved in the operation because the first signal on the activities of members of ISWAP in Ilesa was compromised,” a source said.

Sharing his knowledge of the operation with Saturday PUNCH on Thursday, another highly credible source said, “The operation was carried out in the wee hours of that day at Ifofin, Ilesa, and it went well. There was no gunshot at all, and that prevented people from knowing about it.

“The undercover agents arrived in Ilesa last September 2024. They lived and interacted with people in the area and were able to pin down the exact location of the suspects.

“After confirming the locale and the activities of the suspects, a tactical team was sent from the headquarters, and the officers understudied the environment for another 30 days. The suspects were arrested with ISWAP materials and bomb-making equipment.

“None of the personnel who carried out the operation lived in Osun, and the majority of them left immediately after they arrested the suspects. The last batch of the team left last Saturday.”

The officer told Saturday PUNCH that after the operation, some senior officers of the service, including the ‘PSO’, were transferred from Osun to other states.

According to him, about 150 personnel had earlier been transferred before the final day of the operation.

“After the operation, the Osun PSO and some other senior officers were transferred out of the command. Before the operation was finalised, more than 150 personnel in Osun were deployed in the northern states, including Benue, Jigawa, and Bauchi, for reasons known to the service,” he added.

According to the security source, the DSS had been tracking some of the ISWAP members since 2023 when there was intelligence that they wanted to attack a church in Ilesa.

“In 2023, there was intelligence that ISWAP wanted to attack a church in Ilesa. A signal was sent to the police, but unfortunately, it was leaked, which jeopardised our operation to arrest the suspects. We have been tracking them since then,” he stated.

He further revealed that members of ISWAP were involved in the bank robberies that occurred in Iree and Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area of the state in 2021.

According to the source, it is not the first time the DSS will arrest suspected ISWAP/Boko Haram members in Osun, disclosing that some suspected terrorists from Sokoto and Zamfara states were arrested in Ile-Ife in 2022.

“We arrested some in 2022 in Ile-Ife. In the course of that operation, the palace of a monarch was raided, likewise some other people in the town,” he said.

Another security source also confirmed that the DSS operatives had been tracking the suspects for months, noting that those arrested were not living in the same house.

“They were picked up in Ogbon Idio and Ifofin areas of Ilesa, in Ilesa East Local Government Area of Osun State, on December 16. They were not staying in the same house but lived close to each other. All of them are watch repairers, and they sell glasses and watches too.

“There are many Hausa residents in the neighborhood where they were picked up, but those who carried out the operation knew exactly those they were looking for, and they went straight for them.

“Even some of their kinsmen could not still believe they are suspected members of ISWAP, but those that arrested them have strong reasons to suspect them,” the source further said.

Community leaders worried

Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that one of the arrested suspects in Ilesa, Abubakar (aka Abu Aisha), was a wristwatch dealer at the popular roundabout in the town.

The suspects reportedly lived with Abubakar, who had been in the house for years.

A resident of Ifofin, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the arrests created confusion among other northerners in the areas and some members of the mosque where they prayed.

He said, “Abubakar is a known person. He sells wristwatches at Ilesa roundabout. He was arrested alongside some of his people living with him before dawn that day. The security people came with about five vehicles in the midnight. Though I didn’t see them, I could hear the sound and movement of the vehicles and the sound of ‘move’ when they were arresting those people.

“When it was dawn and there was no information about where Abubakar and his people were taken to, some of the northerners and the Muslims in the mosque they usually prayed in started visiting one police station after another to ask for them. They even visited the army barracks at Ibodi, but there were no traces of them. The lack of information about their whereabouts created confusion for their people.”

One of our correspondents, who visited the Ifofin area where the suspects were arrested, on Wednesday, noted uneasy calm.

A group of Hausa men were gathered at the open-space mosque attached to Durojaiye House, near Ogbon Idio Junction, Ifofin.

Some of them were just returning from their daily hawking, carrying trays filled with wristwatches and other small items, while others were preparing for prayers, washing their hands and feet in solemn silence.

Saturday PUNCH met one of the Hausa community leaders, Mohammed Borni, who was seated on a prayer mat amidst his people.

Borni recounted the arrest of his kinsmen.

He said, “It happened around 1am. We were surprised when the security men came and took them away. It is about two months now, and we haven’t seen or heard from them after their arrest. Before now, we had gone to the police area command several times to look for them, but the police said they were not even aware of their arrest.”

When asked if he had suspected the arrested men to be criminals or have links to insurgent groups like ISWAP, Mohammed shook his head vehemently, saying, “They are not like that. They sell wristwatches and MP3 players.”

Another leader, Abba Chellu, who spoke to our correspondent over the phone while on his way to Abuja, said the DSS arrested 11 people in two different operations in the areas.

“They (security operatives) were more than 30 officers that came, and they came twice. The first was on a Sunday, around 1.30am; they arrested five people and came back on Tuesday to arrest another six people.”

Living on edge

The incident has raised concerns among residents of the area who expressed fear of living with suspected terrorists.

A tailor in the area, Bimpe Olaiwola, said it was shocking to hear that the suspects were arrested over alleged links with terrorists.

She said, “We have lived with them for years peacefully, but when we heard that some were taken away as suspected terrorists, we became more cautious. Everyone is now on edge, watching their backs. I just pray the authorities help us drive out any real terrorists because some of us are truly afraid.”

Another resident, Tope Niyi, said residents had become more vigilant.

He said, “Many of them are in Ilesa, doing menial jobs and riding Okada. We can’t stop them; but we must be security-conscious. People are genuinely scared.”