Interior Minister reveals identity database integration led to stunning capture of terror kingpins returning from Saudi Arabia
In a dramatic security breakthrough, seven notorious commanders of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were arrested last week at Katsina Airport moments after returning from the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed the operation on Friday during the signing of the NIMC Act 2026 by President Bola Tinubu, attributing the capture to a game-changing integration of Nigeria’s identity database with immigration and Interpol systems.
“We inherited a fractured system,” Tunji-Ojo stated. “But last week, seven known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP were arrested at Katsina Airport upon returning from Mecca and handed over to the DSS. This was possible because the NIMC database is now connected with the immigration database and interfaces with Interpol’s systems 24/7.”
The new NIMC Act 2026, which Tinubu signed into law at the State House in Abuja, is set to revolutionize Nigeria’s identity management strengthening national security, curbing identity theft, and accelerating digital transformation.
Present at the signing: Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi, World Bank representative Taimur Samad, and NIMC DG Abisoye Coker-Odusote.
The minister emphasized that prior to the reforms, identity systems operated in silos. “Today, you cannot obtain a Nigerian passport without verification through the NIMC database,” he added.
