FG Arrests 7 Boko Haram, ISWAP Commanders at Katsina Airport After Hajj Return
By Victor Idajili
Seven suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders were arrested at Katsina airport last Thursday as they returned from pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, the federal government has said.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this in Abuja after President Bola Tinubu signed the 2026 National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Act into law. The suspects have been handed over to the Department of State Services, DSS.
Tunji-Ojo said the arrests were made possible by Nigeria’s new integrated identity management system, which now links NIMC, immigration and Interpol databases in real time.
“When President Tinubu came in, our identity data was disconnected. You could get a passport or driver’s licence without it talking to NIMC. Today, you can’t get a Nigerian passport without data from NIMC,” he explained.
“What we have in immigration is now the same as what is in the NIMC database. That integration helped our border control. Last Thursday, seven known Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders were picked up at Katsina airport on their way back from Mecca and handed to DSS. That would not have been possible before.”
The minister described the new law as a “landmark achievement” that will strengthen internal security and improve access to government services.
The arrests came days after Dr. Bashir Kurfi alleged on Trust TV that the Katsina government sponsored some non-state actors on Hajj. The state government has denied the claim.
In a statement, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasir Mua’zu, called the allegation “baseless, unfounded and a deliberate falsehood” aimed at misleading the public and undermining ongoing security operations.
“The accusation is meant to distract from the progress security agencies are making against banditry and other crimes, and to create distrust among residents,” Mua’zu said.
He also accused some individuals of politicising security matters after the government refused to back what it described as “questionable schemes to divert public resources.”
