Presidency Says 2024 Report on Al Minuki’s Death Was Wrong

The Presidency has clarified that earlier reports claiming senior terrorist commander Abu Bilal Al Minuki was killed in 2024 were inaccurate and based on mistaken identity.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu government made the clarification on Saturday following renewed public interest after Donald Trump announced that Al Minuki was killed in a joint military operation involving American and Nigerian forces.

The announcement sparked reactions among Nigerians, many of whom recalled previous statements by the Nigerian military suggesting that the same ISIS commander had already been eliminated during operations in Kaduna State in 2024.

In a statement, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga explained that Al Minuki’s name had appeared in lists of suspected commanders believed to have been killed during counterinsurgency operations around Birnin Gwari.

However, he said security and intelligence officials have now determined that the earlier report was incorrect.

According to Onanuga, investigators found that Birnin Gwari was not part of Al Minuki’s known area of operation, making it unlikely that he was among those killed at the time.

He said such errors are not unusual in military campaigns against insurgent groups, especially in situations where fighters use multiple aliases, false identities and misinformation to avoid detection.

Onanuga noted that counterterrorism operations are often complicated and that intelligence assessments can change as new information becomes available.

To support his explanation, he cited the case of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose death was reported several times before it was eventually confirmed years later.

Similar read: US, Nigerian Forces Kill ISIS Leader in Joint Operation

He said these cases reflect the difficult and evolving nature of intelligence gathering rather than a failure by security agencies.

The clarification came just hours after the United States Africa Command released video footage of Friday’s airstrike that reportedly killed Al Minuki and several other militants.

The latest statement from the Presidency is aimed at addressing public confusion and reaffirming that the most recent operation, carried out with support from Nigerian and American forces, led to the confirmed death of the terrorist commander.

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