Nigeria's integrated identity system has caught seven suspected commanders from Boko Haram and ISWAP returning from this year's Hajj pilgrimage. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made the disclosure on Friday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The seven men were intercepted at Katsina airport last Thursday immediately upon arrival from Saudi Arabia. They've since been handed over to the Department of State Services for investigation.
Tunji-Ojo credited the arrests to recent database reforms connecting the National Identity Management Commission with Nigeria Immigration Service systems. Both networks now link directly to INTERPOL's global intelligence platform.
Before now, he explained, Nigeria operated fragmented identity systems that couldn't effectively track security threats at borders. "We inherited a fractured system," the minister told reporters at the ceremony.
President Bola Tinubu had just signed the NIMC Act 2026 into law moments before Tunji-Ojo's announcement. The new legislation aims to strengthen how government agencies share identity information.
According to the minister, passport issuance and driver's licence registration were previously disconnected from the national identity database. "You can't get a Nigerian passport today without pulling data from NIMC," Tunji-Ojo noted.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio had previously expressed concern about terrorists crossing Nigerian borders undetected to perform pilgrimage. The recent arrests appear to address those worries directly.
Tunji-Ojo stressed that automated systems now enable continuous communication between NIMC and immigration databases. This real-time connectivity proved crucial in identifying the returning suspects.
The newly signed act will deepen harmonisation of identity databases across all government agencies going forward. It's designed to combat terrorism, identity theft, financial crimes and related security threats.
Under the old system, he said, key government services functioned independently without access to national identity information. Those vulnerabilities have now been eliminated through the integrated approach.
Tinubu's administration prioritized connecting previously isolated identity management frameworks since taking office. The results are already visible in operational security outcomes.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and other senior government officials attended Friday's signing ceremony at the Presidential Villa. Bayo Onanuga, the President's Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, issued a statement detailing the minister's remarks.
Officials say the arrested commanders represent significant security threats to the nation. Their detention marks a major success for Nigeria's reformed intelligence and border management systems.
