The President Bola Tinubu administration says it has killed a senior Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, reportedly killed in 2024.

The government said the Nigerian-American operation that targeted him was based on extensive intelligence gathering and multiple layers of verification.

The clarification followed growing skepticism over reports of Al-Manuki’s elimination, with critics questioning the authenticity of the claim after his name had previously surfaced among lists of insurgent commanders reportedly killed during military operations in 2024.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency described the controversy as a reflection of the disconnect between public skepticisms and the realities of modern counterterrorism operations.

According to the statement, security officials acknowledged that Al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok or Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, had earlier appeared on lists of suspected ISWAP and Boko Haram commanders reportedly killed around the Birnin Gwari forest axis in Kaduna State.

However, intelligence authorities now maintain that the earlier report stemmed from mistaken identity or misattribution during ongoing counterinsurgency operations.

The statement noted that intelligence assessments had since established that the Birnin Gwari area was never within Al-Manuki’s known operational territory, undermining the accuracy of the previous claim.

Security sources disclosed that unlike earlier reports, the latest operation was the culmination of prolonged Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) efforts supported by communications monitoring and phone intercepts dating back to December 2025.

According to the sources, the operation was built on months of digital tracking, human intelligence gathering and movement mapping across key locations in northern Nigeria.

The Presidency said security agencies had initially sought to apprehend the insurgent leader alive, explaining why he was reportedly tracked across several locations, including Abuja and Maiduguri, before the final operation.

It stated that intelligence units sustained pressure on the target while avoiding premature exposure of the mission.

“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,” the statement said.

It added that multiple layers of verification preceded approval for the final kinetic operation, making it distinct from earlier cases where battlefield assessments later required revision.

“In their assessment, this time there is no ambiguity,” the statement added.

Responding to comparisons with previous global counterterrorism incidents where insurgent leaders initially reported dead later resurfaced, the Presidency said such historical examples should not be used to discredit every confirmed military operation.

It noted that modern counterterrorism efforts often involve difficult terrains, insurgent networks operating under multiple identities and deliberate misinformation campaigns.

The statement cited past cases involving extremist leaders whose deaths were initially disputed before later confirmation, describing such incidents as evidence of the evolving nature of intelligence operations rather than failures.

The Presidency warned that dismissing credible military operations could weaken public confidence in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and affect operational morale.

It stressed that Nigerian forces and their international intelligence partners operate within one of the world’s most complex insurgency environments, where verification processes are deliberately stringent before public announcements are made.

While recognising public scrutiny as a necessary aspect of democratic accountability, the Presidency cautioned against what it called premature rejection of military claims.

“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,” the statement said.

“This time, they are 100 per cent certain”, it added.