Seven Suspected Boko Haram, Iswap Commanders Arrested Returning From Hajj

The Federal Government has announced the arrest of seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) while they were returning from the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Friday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026 into law.

Tunji-Ojo said the suspects were intercepted last Thursday at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina State upon their arrival from Mecca.

He explained that the suspects were immediately handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further investigation.

The minister attributed the successful arrests to the integration of Nigeria’s digital identity and security verification system, noting that the NIMC database is now connected to the Nigeria Immigration Service and international security networks, including Interpol.

“We inherited a fragmented identity management system where government databases operated independently,” Tunji-Ojo said. “Today, our immigration database is fully integrated with NIMC and linked to Interpol’s 24-hour security network”.

“It was through this integrated platform that seven known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP returning from Mecca were identified at Katsina Airport last Thursday, arrested and handed over to the DSS,” the minister added.

Tunji-Ojo noted that the development addressed concerns previously raised by the Senate President about how terrorists could travel on pilgrimage undetected.

“We inherited a fractured system,” Tunji-Ojo stated. “But I’m 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”.

The minister described the newly signed NIMC Act 2026 as a milestone that would further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture by accelerating the harmonisation of identity databases and improving inter-agency collaboration.

Tunji-Ojo explained that before the current administration’s reforms, government identity systems operated independently, making effective verification difficult. “Today, you cannot get a Nigerian passport without pulling data from NIMC,” he said.

The suspects were airlifted to Abuja on Saturday and remain in DSS custody as investigations continue.

The minister did not disclose their identities or provide details on how they obtained travel clearance for the pilgrimage.