DSS Files Terrorism Charges Against Seven IPOB Commanders Linked to Simon Ekpa

Reported by: Agande Richard Aondofa | Edited by: Henry Owen

The Department of State Services (DSS) has formally charged seven key commanders of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), linked to the separatist leader Simon Ekpa, with terrorism. The charges were filed in three separate cases at the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 19, 2025.

The suspects are accused of receiving money and support from Simon Ekpa and other foreign-based IPOB members to carry out terrorist activities. Among them is Ibrahim Ali Larabo, a suspect accused of financing terrorism. Larabo is an illegal immigrant from Niger who runs a Bureau de Change (BDC) without a license. He is said to have provided financial services to IPOB, handling large sums of money used for terror activities in the Southeast.

The other suspects include IPOB commanders, arms dealers, couriers, members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), and foot soldiers—all funded and directed by Simon Ekpa, who has already been convicted and sentenced to six years in Finland for terror-related crimes.

In other updates, the DSS also announced the successful prosecution of Ismaila, also known as Mai Tangaran, who was responsible for the 2012 attack on the police headquarters in Bompai, Kano, and other facilities. He was convicted and sentenced by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court on November 18, 2025. Ismaila, a leader of the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP), was sentenced to 15 years on one count and 20 years on three other counts for terrorism, all to run concurrently.

The DSS has also filed cases against two internationally-wanted terror suspects, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (Mamuda) and Abubakar Abba (Abu Baara). Their trial will resume on January 15, 2026.

Other onoing prosecutions include Khalid Al-Barnawi, accused of masterminding the 2011 United Nations building bombing, and five suspects charged with attacking St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in June 2022. The DSS is also handling cases of 10 suspects arrested over attacks in Benue and Plateau states, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive to bring the attackers to justice.

Notably, Abdulazeez Obadaki, also known as Bomboy, an alleged international leader of ISWAP, has been recaptured. He confessed to planning attacks on churches in Owo and Okene. Musa Abubakar, a key arms manufacturer and supplier, was also arrested in Plateau State.

Since taking office in August 2024, DSS Director-General Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi has ordered a review of all ongoing cases and directed forensic investigations to ensure diligent prosecution of all terror-related cases in Nigeria.

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