Seven accused commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, were seized at Katsina Airport after returning from the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Federal Government lauded the arrests as a significant victory for Nigeria’s integrated digital identification and security verification system.
Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo announced the development on Friday, shortly after Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Act, 2026 into law.
According to the minister, the suspects were discovered and apprehended shortly after arriving in Nigeria using the country’s integrated identity verification technology before being turned over to the Department of State Services, or DSS, for further investigation.
Tunji-Ojo noted that the arrests were made feasible by integrating the NIMC database with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and international security networks, including Interpol.
“We inherited a fragmented identity management system in which government databases ran independently. Today, our immigration database is fully connected with the NIMC and linked to Interpol’s 24-hour security system.
“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,” the minister stated.
President Tinubu signed the NIMC Act, 2026 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, in the presence of 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 other senior government officials.
Tunji-Ojo hailed the new legislation as a fundamental change aimed at improving the harmonisation of Nigeria’s identity management systems, ensuring the integrity of the National Identity Number, or NIN, and increasing coordination among security and intelligence services.
He said that the revisions would strengthen Nigeria’s ability to tackle terrorism, identity fraud, financial crimes, and other transnational crimes.
The minister also stated that the integration has enhanced the passport application process, stressing that no Nigerian passport can now be issued without adequate identification verification using the NIMC database.
According to him, the reforms have significantly improved border security and intelligence operations by giving security agencies access to a consolidated identity system that can follow high-risk persons across multiple government platforms.