ABUJA — Seven high-profile jihadist commanders have been arrested at an airport in northern Nigeria as they returned from the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, the government has announced.
The suspects, described as senior leaders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), were intercepted at the international airport in Katsina State upon their arrival from Mecca.
The country’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, revealed the breakthrough following the signing of a new national identity management law by President Bola Tinubu.
The minister stated that the successful counter-terrorism operation was made possible by a newly automated digital security system linking Nigeria’s national identity database directly with immigration and Interpol networks.
Biometric tracking flags suspects
“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 [Department of State Services],” Mr Tunji-Ojo said in a statement released by the presidency.
“This is only possible because the national ID is already connected with the immigration database, and it’s already speaking to even Interpol 24/7,” he added.
The suspects are currently being interrogated by Nigeria’s secret police.
Political storm brewing
The arrests have triggered intense public scrutiny and are expected to cause considerable political fallout within Nigeria.
Questions are being raised over how high-ranking leaders of proscribed terrorist groups, responsible for a brutal 17-year insurgency in the country’s north-east, managed to secure international passports, visas, and clearance to travel out of the country undetected.
The development also follows recent local allegations that regional authorities in Katsina State may have inadvertently sponsored the travel logistics of individuals linked to armed groups as part of a highly controversial and unpublicised local amnesty or truce initiative.
While the Katsina State Government has fiercely denied any intentional sponsorship of insurgents, the minister’s revelation is likely to intensify demands for a full investigation into the security breaches that allowed the commanders to travel to Saudi Arabia in the first place.
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