The Presidency has admitted that the Nigerian military made an error in its earlier announcement concerning the reported killing of top ISIS commander, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki.
The controversy emerged after US President Donald Trump announced that the terror leader, whom he described as the “most active terrorist in the world”, had been killed.
President Bola Tinubu also confirmed the development, stating that Al-Manuki was eliminated during a joint counterterrorism operation involving Nigerian and American forces.
Tinubu had welcomed the operation and expressed optimism about deeper security collaboration between Nigeria and the United States.
However, Daily Trust later discovered that the Defence Headquarters had already listed Al-Manuki among terrorists killed during military operations conducted between January and March 2024.
At the time, the then Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, while briefing journalists in Abuja, identified Minuki as the leader of Is-Al Furqan Province linked to ISGS and ISWAP activities.
Buba had explained that Minuki, also known among his associates as Abubakar Mainok, operated around the Birnin Gwari Forest in Kaduna State and along the Abuja Kaduna Highway.
According to him, the terror commander was killed on February 21, 2024.
The former Defence spokesman also claimed that more than 50 fighters, including Kachallah Alhaji Dayi, Kachallah Idi (Namaidaro), Kachallah Kabiru (Doka), Kachallah Azarailu (Farin-Ruwa), Kachallah Balejo, Ubangida and Alhaji Baldu, were neutralised within the same period.
The apparent contradiction sparked reactions from members of the public, many of whom questioned the credibility of the latest announcement.
Responding to the criticism, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said intelligence gathering during counterterrorism operations was often complex and could sometimes lead to evolving assessments.
According to him, the latest operation that reportedly led to Al-Manuki’s death was the result of several months of coordinated intelligence and surveillance efforts involving Nigerian and international security agencies.
“It is acknowledged within military and intelligence circles that Al-Manuki’s name had appeared among lists of suspected ISWAP/Boko Haram commanders reportedly killed in 2024 during operations around the Birnin Gwari forest axis in Kaduna State,” the statement said.
“However, security officials now clarify that the earlier listing was a case of mistaken identity or misattribution in the fog of sustained counterinsurgency operations.”
The statement added that intelligence findings later showed that Birnin Gwari was never part of Al-Manuki’s known operational territory, casting doubt on the earlier military assessment.
“Importantly, intelligence now confirms that the Birnin Gwari theatre was never within Al-Manuki’s established operational sphere, which negates the accuracy of the earlier assessment,” it added.
Defending the latest announcement, Onanuga maintained that security agencies were now “100 per cent certain” the ISWAP commander had been killed following what he described as a carefully coordinated intelligence-led mission.
According to the Presidency, the operation was based on “prolonged Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) efforts,” supported by communication tracking and phone intercepts that reportedly began in December 2025.
“The intelligence trail, according to sources familiar with the mission, did not emerge overnight.”
“Rather, it was built over months of persistent tracking, digital surveillance, and human intelligence inputs to map Al-Manuki’s movements across key locations in northern Nigeria.”
Onanuga also disclosed that security agencies initially planned to capture the terror leader alive before circumstances changed during the operation.
“Security officials disclosed that efforts initially focused on capturing him alive rather than eliminating him,” it stated.
“This explains why he was reportedly under surveillance in multiple locations, including Abuja and Maiduguri, up to just days before the final operation.”
The statement further stressed that unlike previous operations where battlefield reports were later corrected, the latest mission involved “a significantly higher degree of precision, target validation, and multi-source intelligence confirmation.”
“Officials maintain that multiple layers of verification were applied before authorisation of the final kinetic action, making this operation distinct from earlier incidents in which battlefield assessments later required revision,” it added.
“In their assessment, ‘this time, there is no ambiguity.’”
Onanuga also referenced past global counterterrorism operations, including conflicting reports surrounding former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before his death was eventually confirmed years later.
“For example, even in the global campaign against ISIS leadership, early reports of the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were later proven incorrect, with his actual death confirmed four years after the first successful killing was announced,” the statement noted.
The presidential spokesman warned that dismissing military achievements without full understanding of operational details could undermine public trust and affect the morale of security personnel involved in ongoing counterterrorism efforts.
