The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested and arraigned two suspects in connection with the 2023 killing of four soldiers in Ashaka Aboh, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State.
The suspects, identified as Ufuoma Sunday James and Lawrence Umuakpero Oboguayivwgue, were apprehended nearly three years after the incident. They are also alleged to have been involved in the beheading of Chief Okwudili Obi, popularly known as Odumodu, the self-proclaimed traditional ruler of Asemoku Community, during the same period of communal unrest in 2023.
The soldiers were killed in February 2023 while on a peacekeeping mission amid a violent communal crisis between Kwale and Asemoku communities in Ndokwa East LGA. They were reportedly ambushed by armed assailants allegedly led by James, resulting in their deaths and the theft of their service weapons.
According to credible security sources, DSS operatives arrested the suspects in January 2026 following actionable intelligence. The suspects are said to have confessed to their involvement in the killings and admitted participation in other criminal activities, including gun-running, kidnapping and related violent offences.
“DSS operatives have been investigating the case for over a year. In January this year, they received reliable intelligence that led to the arrest of the suspects,” a security source disclosed.
The source added that the suspects have since been arraigned before a State High Court sitting in Kwale, where the presiding judge ordered their remand in a correctional facility pending the conclusion of investigations and trial.
Another security source described the arrests as a significant breakthrough in the DSS’s efforts to resolve long-standing criminal cases.
“This development demonstrates the DSS’s commitment to ensuring justice, regardless of how much time has elapsed,” the source said. “It also highlights the effectiveness of coordinated intelligence operations and reassures the public that violent crimes, especially those targeting security personnel, will not go unpunished.”
