The Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday arraigned two individuals on terrorism-related charges, just two days after securing a 20-year conviction for ISWAP leader Hussaini Ismaila.
In Abuja, the DSS brought Abdulmalik Abdulazeez Obadaki, the alleged mastermind of the 2012 attack on the Deeper Life Bible Church in Okene, Kogi State before the Federal High Court on a six-count terrorism charge.
The charges include membership of a terrorist organisation, conspiracy, aiding acts of terrorism, concealment of information, and escape from lawful custody.
Obadaki pleaded guilty only to the charge of escaping custody but entered a not-guilty plea on the other five counts.
Presiding judge Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik adjourned the case to January 26, 2026, to allow the court to review the facts relating to the count he admitted to and proceed with the trial on the remaining charges. Obadaki has been remanded in DSS custody until the next hearing.
Obadaki, after the Okene church attack, was linked to a string of violent crimes, including a coordinated raid on five commercial banks in Uromi, Edo State, during which several people were killed. He was arrested and detained at Kuje Prison before escaping during the July 2022 jailbreak. Security sources say he later confessed to orchestrating that jailbreak after being transferred from Kabba Custodial Centre.
In a separate case on Thursday, the DSS also arraigned social media user Innocent Chukwuemeka for allegedly using his X (formerly Twitter) account to advocate for a military coup in Nigeria.
Chukwuemeka faces six counts, including false publication capable of causing public alarm and cyberstalking. He pleaded not guilty, with the court also fixing January 26, 2026, for hearing. He has been ordered to remain in DSS custody.
The DSS says the prosecutions reflect its renewed efforts to clamp down on threats to national security and the spread of content capable of inciting unrest.
