Nigeria arrests seven Boko Haram commanders returning from Mecca

Nigeria has dealt a significant blow to two major jihadist groups operating in the Lake Chad basin. Seven alleged commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were apprehended upon arrival at Katsina airport after completing the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. Authorities attribute the arrests to the modernisation of the national identification system, now linked to immigration and Interpol databases.

Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo announced on Friday that seven individuals, described as Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders, had been detained at Katsina airport in northern Nigeria following their return from Saudi Arabia. According to the minister, the suspects were flagged by the integrated national identity verification platform before being handed over to the State Security Service (DSS) for further investigation.

Identification system now connected to security services

Tunji-Ojo explained that the operation was made possible by interconnecting the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Interpol’s international networks. “We inherited a fragmented identity management system where different state databases operated independently. Today, our immigration database is fully integrated with NIMC and linked to Interpol’s security network, accessible 24/7. It was through this integrated platform that seven known Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders, returning from Mecca, were identified last Thursday at Katsina airport, arrested, and handed over to the DSS,” Tunji-Ojo said.

The announcement came shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the 2026 National Identity Management Commission Act. The ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, NIMC Director General Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and several other government officials. The law aims to harmonise the country’s identification systems, enhance the reliability of the National Identification Number (NIN), and improve information sharing between government agencies and security services.

The government believes this reform will strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat terrorism, document fraud, financial crime, and transnational criminal networks. Tunji-Ojo also noted that passport issuance is now subject to systematic verification against NIMC database records. According to him, the interconnection of various administrative files now provides security services with a unified system to identify and track individuals considered high-risk during travel and administrative processes.