The Presidency and Defence Headquarters have moved to clear the air over reports surrounding the killing of ISWAP commander Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki after questions emerged about claims that he had already been declared dead in a previous military operation.

According to cbinews.tv, the Presidency and the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) have clarified reports surrounding the killing of ISWAP commander Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki following public confusion over earlier claims that the terrorist leader had been eliminated in a 2024 military operation.

The clarification comes after a joint military strike carried out by Nigerian and United States forces on May 16, 2026, reportedly killed the senior terrorist commander in a coordinated operation that also drew global attention after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump had described Al-Minuki as ISIS’ second-in-command globally and “the most active terrorist in the world,” saying the operation was successfully executed by “brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”

Following reactions online questioning why the same individual appeared to have been declared dead previously, the Presidency explained that the earlier reports were a case of mistaken identity.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said security agencies had initially listed a terrorist bearing the same name among those killed during operations in the Birnin Gwari forest axis in Kaduna State in 2024.

However, he said further investigations later revealed that the identification was inaccurate.

“Security officials now clarify that the earlier listing was a case of mistaken identity or misattribution in the fog of sustained counterinsurgency operations,” Onanuga stated.

According to him, intelligence findings later confirmed that the Birnin Gwari axis was never part of Al-Minuki’s operational territory, making the earlier assessment unreliable.

Onanuga explained that the latest operation followed months of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), including phone intercepts and communications monitoring that reportedly began in December 2025.

He added that security operatives initially planned to capture the suspect alive, which led to extended surveillance operations across locations including Abuja and Maiduguri before the final strike was authorised.

The presidential aide stressed that multiple layers of intelligence verification were conducted before the operation, insisting that authorities are fully certain about the identity of the terrorist killed.

“There is no ambiguity regarding the identity of the target,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters also released a statement addressing concerns over the similarity in names.

In a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, the DHQ explained that ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters often use identical names and aliases as part of deliberate tactics to conceal identities and confuse security operations.

The military clarified that the Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki killed during the May 16 operation was positively identified through both human intelligence and technical surveillance.

According to the DHQ, the terrorist commander was considered a major global operative within the Islamic State network, with links to international terrorist financing and operational coordination across the Sahel region.

The development has continued to generate conversations online as Nigeria intensifies efforts to combat insurgency and terrorist activities in the North-East and Lake Chad region.

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