Nigeria arrests seven Boko Haram ISWAP commanders Hajj

Nigerian authorities have arrested seven suspected high-ranking members of the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist groups upon their return from the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. The arrests were announced by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo on Friday, June 26, shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission Act of 2026 into law.

The suspects, described by the minister as known commanders, were intercepted at Katsina Airport last Thursday after arriving from Saudi Arabia. They were subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services for investigation. Minister Tunji-Ojo attributed the successful operation to Nigeria's newly integrated digital identity management system, which linked the National Identity Management Commission database with the Nigeria Immigration Service and international security networks, including Interpol.

The minister presented the arrests as evidence of the effectiveness of ongoing government reforms aimed at harmonizing previously fragmented identity databases. He explained that before the current administration, systems for passports, driver's licenses, and national...