The presidency says a 2024 report claiming Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, ISIS’ second-in-command, had been killed was a case of mistaken identity, insisting that the latest operation targeting the insurgent leader was “100 percent certain”.
US President Donald Trump announced al-Minuki’s death in the
early hours of Saturday, and subsequently, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu
confirmed the joint operation between American and Nigerian troops.
Following the announcement, claims resurfaced online that
the ISIS leader had earlier been declared dead by the Nigerian military in
2024.
However, reacting in a statement, Bayo Onanuga, special
adviser to the president on information and strategy, said security officials
had clarified that the earlier report linking Al-Manuki to a 2024 military
operation in Kaduna state was a “case of mistaken identity or misattribution”.
According to the statement, Al-Manuki, also known as
Abu-Mainok or Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, had previously appeared on a list of
suspected ISWAP commanders reportedly killed during operations around the
Birnin Gwari forest axis in Kaduna state.
“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 reads.
“However, security officials now clarify that the earlier
listing was a case of mistaken identity or misattribution in the fog of
sustained counterinsurgency operations.”
Onanuga noted that intelligence later showed that Birnin
Gwari was never within Al-Manuki’s operational territory, casting doubt on the
earlier assessment.
He added that the latest operation against the insurgent
commander followed months of intelligence gathering, surveillance, phone
interceptions, and human intelligence tracking involving Nigerian and American
security operatives.
The presidential spokesperson said intelligence monitoring
of Al-Manuki began in December 2025 and tracked his movements across several
locations in northern Nigeria, including Abuja and Maiduguri.
“Security officials said efforts were initially aimed at
capturing him alive before the final operation was carried out,” he said.
“Unlike the previous report, security authorities insist
that the latest strike was executed with a significantly higher degree of
precision, target validation, and multi-source intelligence confirmation.”
Onanguga added that officials maintain that multiple layers
of verification were applied before authorisation of the final kinetic action,
making the last operation distinct from earlier incidents in which battlefield
assessments later required revision.
“In their assessment, ‘this time, there is no ambiguity,’”
he said.
He also defended public announcements of counterterrorism
operations, noting that mistaken reports of killings had occurred in previous
global anti-terror campaigns involving figures such as Abubakar Shekau and
former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“Such cases highlight not failure but rather the evolving,
often imperfect nature of intelligence gathering in asymmetric warfare,” he
added.
According to him, undermining joint counterterrorism
operations involving Nigerian forces and international partners could weaken
public confidence and operational morale.
“While public scrutiny remains an essential part of
democratic accountability, security experts caution that premature dismissal of
military claims can inadvertently undermine operational morale and strategic
messaging,” the presidential spokesperson said.
“For now, military authorities remain firm in their
position: The latest operation that targeted Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki represents a
validated, intelligence-driven success against a senior figure of the Islamic
State network. And in their words, this time, they are “100 per cent certain.”
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