Presidency Defends Reported Killing of ISWAP Commander Al-Manuki
The Presidency has defended the reported killing of senior Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, insisting that the latest Nigerian-American counterterrorism operation was credible, intelligence-driven and backed by months of surveillance and verification.
In a statement issued on Friday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the controversy surrounding the operation reflected misunderstanding of the complexities of modern counterterrorism warfare.
According to the statement, critics had questioned the authenticity of the operation because Al-Manuki’s name had previously appeared among suspected insurgent commanders reportedly killed during operations in 2024 around the Birnin Gwari forest axis in Kaduna State.
However, security officials clarified that the earlier report was a case of mistaken identity or misattribution during intense counterinsurgency operations. They noted that intelligence assessments later showed Birnin Gwari was never within Al-Manuki’s operational sphere.
The Presidency stated that the latest operation was based on prolonged Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) efforts involving communications monitoring and phone intercepts that reportedly began in December 2025.
According to intelligence sources cited in the statement, security agencies tracked the ISWAP commander for months through digital surveillance and human intelligence gathering across several locations in northern Nigeria.
Officials disclosed that initial efforts focused on capturing him alive, explaining why he was reportedly monitored in locations including Abuja and Maiduguri shortly before the final operation.
The statement added that unlike previous reports, the latest strike involved “a significantly higher degree of precision, target validation and multi-source intelligence confirmation.”
Security authorities maintained that several layers of verification were completed before the final operation was authorised, insisting that “this time, there is no ambiguity.”
The Presidency also addressed comparisons with past counterterrorism cases where insurgent leaders were wrongly declared dead, citing examples involving former Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
According to the statement, such incidents reflect the evolving and difficult nature of intelligence gathering in asymmetric warfare rather than outright operational failure.
The Presidency warned that dismissing joint counterterrorism efforts involving Nigerian forces and international partners could undermine public confidence, military morale and ongoing security operations.
It stressed that Nigeria’s armed forces continue to operate in one of the world’s most complex insurgency environments where targets frequently move across borders, use multiple identities and operate within civilian-populated areas.
The statement concluded that military authorities remain “100 per cent certain” that the latest operation successfully neutralised Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, describing it as a major blow against the Islamic State network in West Africa.
