Interior Minister

By Anwar Usman

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said on Friday that Nigeria’s integrated identity management system led to the arrest of seven suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders returning from the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage.

‎The minister made this known at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 into law, as contained in a statement signed by the President’s aide, Bayo Onanuga.

According to him, the suspects were arrested last Thursday at the Katsina airport after returning from Saudi Arabia and were subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services.

He said the arrests were successful as a result of integrating the National Identity Management Commission database with the Nigeria Immigration Service database and connecting it to Interpol.

The statement in part reads, ”I know, sometime ago, the Senate President was alarmed by how some terrorists went on pilgrimage, wondering how they crossed our borders. We inherited a fractured system.

‎”But I’m happy to tell you that even last week, Thursday, seven of the known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP at the point of coming back from Mecca were arrested in Katsina at the airport and were handed over to the DSS.

‎”This is only possible because NIMC’s ID is already connected with the immigration database, and it’s already speaking to even the Interpol 24/7, and we have been able to automate this,” the minister said.

According to the minister, the newly signed NIMC Act would further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture by improving the harmonisation of identity databases and strengthening inter-agency collaboration.

‎He further revealed that the law will enhance the integrity of the National Identity Number system while boosting the country’s capacity to combat identity theft, terrorism, financial crimes and other security threats.

He said that before Tinubu’s government, identity management systems were fragmented, noting that services such as passport issuance and driver’s licence processing were disconnected from the national identity database.

President Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026 on Friday. In attendance were the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and other senior government officials.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Immediate past Nigeria Interior Minister and two-term governor of Osun State, Abdulrauf Aregbesola, has disclosed that he is back to restructure the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Osun State.

On Wednesday, Aregbesola made his intention public while addressing party faithfuls at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo.

The former governor sought forgiveness of the party party members and stated that it is time for restructuring and reconciliation in the party.

He noted that he did not offend anybody, but said, “whoever feels that we offend him or she should forgive us.

“We seek forgiveness from those who thought we offended and those who sought our downfall.”

“We were here in 2019 after the Supreme Court affirmed the mandate of the former governor, Gboyega Oyetola. I called for unity in the party. I warned that disunity will not produce any good result. But devil didn’t allow them (those who handled the party affairs) to listen.

“We seek forgiveness from those who are smearing our image, though we never offended them.

“We supported them with all I have to see to their success. I didn’t ask for anything from them. I need to emphasize that I didn’t ask for anything from them. But they chose to repay evil for good.

“However, we are here for the restructuring of the party. That is why we are begging anybody that feels that we offended him or her to forgive us.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said he would meet with the state governors to agree on the mass release of inmates in the country’s custodial centres.

The Minister said the meeting would lead to the mass release of about 30 per cent of inmates from custodial centres across the country.

Aregbesola made this known when he appeared on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

The Daily Reality reckons that the reason of the mass release is unconnected with the conjection in most of the country’s costodial centers.

However, the minister said the interface was necessary as more than 90 percent of the inmates were being held for contravening state laws.

He said, “I have written to the Nigerian Governors Forum to allow me to come and address them on how they can support the process of decongestion.

“Because the governors must buy into this system for us to do a massive decongestion, especially of Awaiting Trial Inmates.

“If we get the buy-in of state judicial authorities and the government of the states, we can pull out 30 percent of those who are there,” he said.