The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed terrorism charges against seven alleged key commanders of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) believed to be working under the directive of Finland-based agitator, Simon Ekpa.
According to a statement issued by Favour Dozie, the DSS’s Deputy Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, on Thursday, the charges were lodged before the Federal High Court in Abuja in three separate suits — FHC/ABJ/CR/632/2025, FHC/ABJ/CR/633/2025, and FHC/ABJ/CR/634/2025 — on November 19, 2025.
According to the filings, the suspects allegedly received funds and other forms of material support from Ekpa and other foreign-based IPOB actors to advance violent campaigns in the Southeast. Among them is Ibrahim Ali Larabo, accused of terrorism financing. The DSS said Larabo, an illegal immigrant from the Niger Republic operating an unlicensed Bureau de Change, provided financial services to the Ekpa-led faction, handling large sums reportedly channelled into IPOB and Eastern Security Network (ESN) operations.
The seven defendants are described as IPOB commanders, arms couriers, ESN fighters, and foot soldiers who were allegedly funded, equipped, and directed by Ekpa, who is currently serving a six-year sentence in Finland for terror-related offences.
In a separate development, the DSS announced the conviction of a notorious terrorist, Ismaila, popularly known as Mai Tangaran, who coordinated the 2012 attacks on the Kano State Police Headquarters in Bompai and other strategic locations.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him on a four-count charge under the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013. The trial began in 2017 and concluded on 18 November 2025. Ismaila, identified as a leader within the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), received a 15-year sentence on count one and 20 years each on counts two, three, and four, to run concurrently.
The DSS also disclosed ongoing prosecutions, including cases against two internationally wanted terror suspects, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Mamuda) and Abubakar Abba (aka Abu Baara), whose trial before Justice Nwite resumes on 15 January 2026. Proceedings also continue against Khalid Al-Barnawi, the accused mastermind of the 2011 UN building bombing in Abuja, who is being tried alongside four others.
Additionally, five suspects are facing a nine-count charge in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025 for their alleged roles in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State. Ten others arrested over deadly attacks in Benue and Plateau states are also being prosecuted, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to apprehend and charge perpetrators of recent violence.
The DSS further confirmed that two high-profile suspects — Abdulazeez Obadaki (aka Bomboy), an alleged ISWAP leader linked to attacks on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo and Deeper Life Church in Okene, and Musa Abubakar, believed to be an arms manufacturer and supplier arrested in Plateau State — will soon be arraigned.
According to the statement, DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, upon assuming office in August 2024, ordered a comprehensive review and forensic reinforcement of all inherited terrorism cases to strengthen prosecution under Nigerian law.
