The Federal Government has announced the arrest of seven suspected commanders linked to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) at Katsina Airport after they returned from the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed the development on Friday shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act, 2026, into law at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to the minister, the suspects were identified immediately upon their arrival through Nigeria’s integrated identity verification system and were subsequently taken into custody before being handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further investigation.
Tunji-Ojo explained that the arrests were made possible through the integration of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database with the Nigeria Immigration Service and global security platforms, including Interpol.
He noted that the current administration inherited a fragmented identity management system in which various government databases operated independently, making it difficult for security agencies to effectively share intelligence.
“Today, our immigration database is fully integrated with NIMC and connected to Interpol’s 24-hour security network. It was through this system that seven known Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders returning from Mecca were identified at Katsina Airport last Thursday, arrested and handed over to the DSS,” Tunji-Ojo stated.
President Tinubu signed the NIMC Act, 2026, in the presence of several top government officials, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, and NIMC Director-General Abisoye Coker-Odusote.
The Interior Minister described the newly signed legislation as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s identity management reforms, saying it would strengthen cooperation among security and intelligence agencies while improving the country’s ability to combat terrorism, identity theft, financial crimes, and other transnational offences.
He further stated that the integrated identity system has transformed the passport application process by ensuring that every applicant undergoes proper identity verification through the NIMC database before a passport can be issued.
Tunji-Ojo added that the unified database has also enhanced border security and intelligence gathering by enabling security agencies to track and monitor high-risk individuals across multiple government platforms more efficiently.
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