Nigeria’s security agencies have arrested seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) at Katsina Airport after they returned from the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Federal Government described the operation as a major success made possible by Nigeria’s newly integrated digital identity and border security system.
The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the arrests on Friday shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act, 2026, into law.
According to the minister, the suspects were identified as they arrived in Nigeria last Thursday and were immediately arrested before being handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further investigation.
Tunji-Ojo said the breakthrough was achieved through the integration of the National Identity Management Commission database with the Nigeria Immigration Service and international security platforms, including Interpol.
He explained that the connected system enabled authorities to detect and flag the suspects as they entered the country through Katsina Airport.
“We inherited a fragmented identity management system where government databases operated independently. Today, our immigration database is fully integrated with NIMC and linked to Interpol’s 24-hour security network,” the minister said. He added that the new system has improved intelligence sharing and strengthened the country’s ability to identify high-risk individuals at border entry points.
President Tinubu signed the NIMC Act, 2026, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja in the presence of top government officials, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and NIMC Director-General Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote. The government said the new law is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s identity management system, improve cooperation among security agencies, and support efforts against terrorism, identity theft, financial crimes, and other cross-border offences.
The government also said the reforms have made passport issuance more secure by ensuring applicants are verified through the NIMC database before passports are issued. While officials described the arrests as a significant security breakthrough, authorities have not yet released the identities of the suspects or announced any formal charges, as investigations by the DSS continue.
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