Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has disclosed that seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP were arrested at Katsina Airport while returning from the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia
Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after President Bola Tinubu signed the 2026 National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act into law, the minister said the suspects were identified through Nigeria’s integrated identity management system before being handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS).
Tunji-Ojo explained that the arrests were made possible by reforms that have linked the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database with the Nigeria Immigration Service and international security platforms, including Interpol. According to him, the upgraded system has significantly strengthened border security and made it easier to identify security threats entering the country.
He said:
“With this law, our security architecture can be enhanced. When Mr. President came on board, we had a disconnected system within our identity data management system. At that time, getting a passport and getting a driving permit were completely disconnected from our identity database. But today, you can’t get a Nigerian passport without pulling data from NIMC.
“What you have in immigration is what you have in the NIMC database, and let me say this clearly, that it has even helped our border control process. I know, sometime ago, the Senate President was alarmed by how some terrorists went on pilgrimage, wondering how they crossed our borders. We inherited a fractured system.
“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.
“This is only possible because NIMC’s ID is already connected with the immigration database, and it’s already speaking to even the Interpol 24/7, and we have been able to automate this.”
The announcement comes days after claims by Dr. Bashir Kurfi that the Katsina State Government sponsored some non-state actors for Hajj. The state government has dismissed the allegation as false, insisting it was an attempt to mislead the public and undermine ongoing efforts to tackle insecurity.
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