Nigeria’s security agencies say they have arrested seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, as they returned to the country after the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The arrests were made at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport, Katsina, and were announced by the Federal Government on Friday, June 26, 2025.
The Announcement: “Arrested at Katsina Airport”
Minister of Interior Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed the development at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026 into law. According to the minister, the suspects were intercepted “last week, Thursday” at the Katsina airport and handed over to the Department of State Services, DSS.
“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,” Tunji-Ojo said.
The Federal Government described the operation as “one of the biggest breakthroughs achieved through Nigeria’s integrated digital identity system”.
How They Were Tracked: NIMC, Immigration and Interpol Link-Up
Tunji-Ojo said the arrests were made possible by Nigeria’s integrated identity verification platform. The suspects were flagged immediately after arriving in Nigeria.
The minister explained: “We inherited a fragmented identity management system where government databases operated independently. Today, our immigration database is fully integrated with NIMC and linked to Interpol’s 24-hour security network”.
“It was through this integrated platform that seven known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP returning from Mecca were identified at Katsina Airport last Thursday, arrested and handed over to the DSS”.
He added: “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”.
What We Know — And What Has Not Been Released
The minister did not disclose the identities of the seven men. He also did not state whether they had been on security watchlists before travelling to Saudi Arabia, how they obtained travel clearance, whether they travelled on Nigerian passports, or whether they had been formally charged as of the time of the announcement.
PREMIUM TIMES reported it could not immediately obtain independent confirmation from the DSS or the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Hajj Returns and Security Screening
The arrests came during the 2026 Hajj return period. The announcement also follows public concerns about how suspected terrorists were able to travel for Hajj. There have been prior allegations that the Katsina State Government sponsored the Hajj exercise for some terrorists, an allegation the state government has denied.
Nigeria has recorded other Hajj-related security incidents. In 2025, the DSS arrested six suspected bandits at Kaduna International Airport shortly after their return from the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage. In a separate case, the DSS later released seven Hajj pilgrims who had been arrested four months earlier over alleged terrorism links after investigations cleared them, with each receiving N1 million compensation.
The Katsina arrests were cited by government officials as evidence of reforms in identity management and border security. The NIMC Act 2026, signed the same day, is intended to strengthen the NIN system, improve inter-agency collaboration, and enhance Nigeria’s ability to combat terrorism, identity theft, and financial crimes.
Military operations against Boko Haram and ISWAP have continued in the North-East. Troops under Operation Hadin Kai recently reported neutralising over 50 terrorists, including a top ISWAP commander, and arresting multiple collaborators in Borno. The Defence Headquarters also reported killing several terrorist kingpins, arresting over 1,191 suspects, and rescuing 543 hostages in the second quarter of 2025.
What remains unclear is how the seven men secured clearance to travel to Mecca and return via a Nigerian airport despite being described as “known commanders”. The government has not said whether the integrated system flagged them only on return, or whether gaps in pre-travel screening are being addressed.
Bottom line
Seven suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders were intercepted at Katsina Airport on their return from the 2026 Hajj, according to the Minister of Interior. The government credits Nigeria’s newly integrated NIMC-Immigration-Interpol database for the arrests. Identities, charges, and travel details have not yet been made public.
