Nigeria has dealt a blow to two major jihadist groups active in the Lake Chad Basin. Seven alleged commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were arrested upon arrival at Katsina Airport after returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca. Authorities attribute these arrests to the modernised national identification system, now linked to immigration and Interpol databases. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo announced on Friday that seven individuals presented as commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP had been detained at Katsina Airport in northern Nigeria after their Hajj journey from Saudi Arabia. He stated that the suspects were detected through 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

The minister explained that this operation was made possible by linking the database of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) with that of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), as well as with 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 the NIMC and connected to Interpol’s security network, accessible 24/7. It was through this integrated platform that seven known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP, returning from Mecca, were identified last Thursday at Katsina Airport, arrested, and then handed over to the DSS,” Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said.

This 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 of the Federation 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, strengthen the reliability of the National Identification Number (NIN), and improve information sharing between administrations and security services.

The government believes this reform will enhance Nigeria’s capabilities in combating terrorism, document fraud, financial crime, and transnational criminal networks. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo also stated that passport issuance is now subject to systematic verification of information in the NIMC database. According to him, the interconnection of various administrative records now provides security agencies with a unified system to identify and track individuals considered high-risk during their travels and administrative procedures.