Joint security operation kills top ISWAP commander in Ondo

A combined team of Nigerian security forces has killed senior ISWAP leader Abdussamad Ohida during a targeted raid in Owo forest area of Ondo State.

Operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Army, and the Amotekun Corps launched the surprise operation over the weekend after tracking the terrorist leader’s hideout deep in the forest.

Ohida, also known as Anwar, took control of ISWAP’s central and southern Nigerian operations after his former commander, Abu Ikrimah, was arrested by the DSS in 2023.

Security officials revealed that intelligence gathered from interrogations, alongside support from UK intelligence partners, helped pinpoint Ohida’s location, where he was planning attacks targeting civilians during the upcoming Christmas season, with additional plans to disrupt the 2027 general elections.

According to security records, Ohida personally organized several major attacks across the region, including the December 31, 2025 attack on Ipele Divisional Police Station in Ondo State, where eight AK-47 rifles were stolen before the station was bombed. The July 2022 attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja. The July 2022 ambush at a military checkpoint along the Suleja-Zuba road in Niger State. Multiple police station raids in Ogaminana and Okene, Kogi State, as well as a 2020 attack on a naval checkpoint that killed two officers.

Security sources described the operation as a major victory against terror networks attempting to spread into southern Nigeria.

“The elimination of Abdussamad Ohida represents a significant disruption to ISWAP’s leadership structure, operational network, and expansion efforts in central and southern Nigeria…It is a very big blow to ISWAP’s efforts to expand its operational presence in the country.”

Meanwhile, security agencies say joint patrols will continue across Ondo and neighboring states to clear out remaining cells and keep the area safe.