Seven suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP commanders were arrested at Katsina airport on their return from hajj, after a new NIMC-Interpol data link flagged them as high-risk travelers.
Seven suspected commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP walked into Katsina airport thinking they’d slip back into Nigeria unnoticed. They were wrong.
The suspects were nabbed last Thursday while returning from hajj in Saudi Arabia, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo revealed at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. They were swiftly handed over to the Department of State Services and later airlifted to Abuja, where they remain in custody.
The minister credited the catch to a new data-sharing setup linking the NIMC database with the Nigeria Immigration Service and Interpol, letting agencies flag high-risk travelers in real time.
Tunji-Ojo also announced a new Integrated Operations Centre to boost border surveillance. According to TheCable, while air border security has improved, land borders remain a work in progress.
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