Community leaders in Katsina and Nasarawa states have commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for arresting an alleged arms supply kingpin, Abubakar Mubarak, and dismantling a network supplying weapons to terrorists in the two states.

The leaders, who spoke separately with journalists, said DSS operatives arrested Mubarak on Tuesday in Magabar Jibia, Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.

According to them, Mubarak, 28, is a native of Mashema Village in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State. They said the operation led to the unravelling of an arms-trafficking network stretching across several northern states.

“We are very relieved and thankful to the DSS for arresting Mubarak. Many villagers are aware of the terror his men have been unleashing on us over the years. We are, however, thankful that Almighty Allah has used the DSS to bring their reign of terror to an end,” a community leader in Jibia LGA said through an interpreter.

A community leader from an area near Keffi in Nasarawa State also commended the DSS for arresting an alleged arms courier, Ismail Lawalli, on Sunday evening along the Keffi-Abuja Highway.

The leader, a retired security agent, said Lawalli, who is also from Mashema Village, was arrested with 1,099 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 57 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and 106 rounds of General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) ammunition.

He said the courier allegedly admitted conveying the ammunition to Mubarak, who had reportedly paid for the consignment, leading operatives to the alleged kingpin in Katsina State.

The community leader further disclosed that Mubarak’s elder brother, Mustapha Abubakar, was arrested earlier this year in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, over alleged arms trafficking.

“Mustapha Abubakar was arrested by DSS operatives earlier this year in Gusau, with one AK-47 rifle and 20 rounds of ammunition.”

The suspects are currently in DSS custody for further investigation and possible prosecution, the community leader said.

He commended the DSS for its efforts to track and dismantle illicit arms supply networks and other activities fuelling insecurity across the country.

“I commend the DSS for being unrelenting in its resolve to track and dismantle illicit arms supply networks and other actors who fuel insecurity across the country. We hope that, with the combined efforts of other security agencies, insecurity would soon be a thing of the past,” he said.