The Federal Government on Friday revealed that security agencies arrested seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina State as they returned from the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed the arrests at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after President Bola Tinubu assented to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026.
The disclosure provides a rare glimpse into ongoing efforts by security agencies to track and apprehend high-profile terrorism suspects using Nigeria’s increasingly integrated identity and border management systems.
According to the minister, the suspects were intercepted upon arrival in Katsina last Thursday and immediately transferred to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further investigation.
“I am happy to tell you that even last week, Thursday, seven of the known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP, at the point of coming back from Mecca, were arrested in Katsina at the airport and were handed over to the DSS,” Tunji-Ojo said.
Although the minister did not reveal the identities of the suspects or the specific roles they allegedly played within the terrorist groups, the arrests are expected to raise fresh questions about how individuals linked to insurgency were able to undertake the pilgrimage and travel internationally without being intercepted earlier.
Tunji-Ojo credited the breakthrough to the government’s ongoing efforts to harmonise identity management and border security databases, a process he said has strengthened intelligence sharing among security and law enforcement agencies.
He explained that the National Identity Number (NIN) database is now linked to immigration records and connected to international security platforms, enabling authorities to flag and track persons of interest more effectively.
“This is only possible because NIMC’s identity system is already connected with the immigration database and is communicating with Interpol 24/7. We have been able to automate the process,” he said.
The minister noted that prior to the current reforms, critical government databases operated in isolation, creating loopholes that could be exploited by criminal and security suspects.
“When Mr President came on board, we had a disconnected identity management system. Getting a passport and obtaining other government documents were not fully integrated with our national identity framework. Today, you cannot get a Nigerian passport without your NIMC data being verified,” he added.
The arrests come as Nigeria continues to confront persistent security threats from Boko Haram and ISWAP, particularly in the North-East, where both groups have sustained attacks on communities, security formations and critical infrastructure despite years of military operations.
Security experts have long argued that intelligence-led policing, biometric verification and inter-agency collaboration are essential to disrupting terrorist networks and preventing insurgents from moving freely across national borders.
The latest operation is likely to intensify scrutiny of screening procedures for international pilgrimages and reinforce calls for deeper collaboration between security agencies, immigration authorities and international partners in the fight against terrorism.
