By Emmanuel Nduka
Nigeria’s security agencies have arrested seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) at the Katsina International Airport after they returned from the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has revealed.
According to the minister, the suspects were intercepted upon arrival through a newly integrated security intelligence system that connects the databases of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), enabling real-time identity verification and intelligence sharing.
Tunji-Ojo disclosed the development on Friday shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assented to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act, 2026, describing the arrests as evidence that Nigeria’s internal security architecture has undergone a major transformation.
Recalling concerns previously raised over how suspected terrorists had managed to leave and re-enter the country undetected, the minister said the current administration inherited a fragmented security system but has since integrated critical national databases to close those loopholes.
“I know that some time ago, the Senate President raised the issue on the floor of the Senate about some terrorists travelling for pilgrimage and questioned how they were able to cross our borders,” Tunji-Ojo said.
“What we inherited was a fractured system. But I am pleased to announce that last Thursday, seven known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP were arrested at the Katsina airport as they attempted to return into the country after Hajj. They were immediately taken into custody and handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS).”
He explained that the operation became possible because the country’s identity management system now communicates seamlessly with immigration records and Interpol’s global security network around the clock.
“The NIMC identity database is now fully connected with the immigration database and is interfacing with Interpol 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have automated the entire process, making it much easier to identify persons of security interest the moment they present themselves at our borders,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that the Federal Government has completed an Integrated Operations Centre (IOC), a first-of-its-kind national facility designed to coordinate surveillance and security operations across Nigeria’s air and maritime borders.
According to him, the centre now provides centralised monitoring of the country’s internal security processes, significantly strengthening border control and intelligence coordination.
“With the new Integrated Operations Centre established by the Ministry of Interior—the first in Nigeria’s history—we now have centralised control over our air and maritime border security systems,” he stated.
“The effectiveness of this system was demonstrated during last week’s operation. The suspects assumed it was business as usual; they travelled out and expected to return unnoticed. Instead, they were identified immediately upon arrival, arrested at the airport, and handed over to the DSS.”
Tunji-Ojo added that the suspects were subsequently airlifted to Abuja on Saturday, where they remain in the custody of security authorities pending further investigation.
The minister’s announcement came shortly after President Tinubu signed the NIMC Act, 2026 into law, a landmark legislation expected to place the National Identity Management Commission at the centre of Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure and strengthen the country’s identity verification and national security framework.
