ISWAP Leader’s Death Foils December Terror Plot

By Temitope Adebiyi, Correspondent

The elimination of senior ISWAP Commander Abdussamad “Anwar” Ohida in Ondo State’s Owo forest has disrupted a terrorist attack scheduled for December, according to details revealed yesterday.

Abdussamad Ohida, a high-ranking ISWAP leader, was killed alongside multiple associates over the weekend when Nigerian Army troops, DSS operatives, and Amotekun personnel launched a surprise raid on their forest camp.

According to security sources, the military operation successfully disrupted Ohida’s coordinated terrorist plot targeting southern Nigeria during the festive period.

Ohida was second-in-command to Abu Ikrimah (also called Abu Uwais), the ISWAP Central Nigeria commander taken into custody by the DSS in 2023

After Ikrimah’s arrest, Ohida allegedly took charge of ISWAP operations in North-Central and Southern Nigeria, directing and executing various terrorist attacks..

Sources said interrogating Abu Uwais yielded vital intelligence, revealing Ohida’s activities and his alleged festive-season plot against civilians.

A statement yesterday said: “The plan was to attack civilians during the festive period and ultimately disrupt the 2027 general election. This intelligence was corroborated by intelligence partners from the United Kingdom, who supported the elimination operation.”

The source also linked Ohida to several attacks on security formations and personnel across the country.

The killed ISWAP leader was alleged to have planned and executed the December 31, 2025, attack on Ipele Divisional Police Station in Owo, Ondo State, during which AK-47 rifles were reportedly carted away before the station was brought down with explosives.

Ohida was also accused of involvement in the July 28, 2022, attack on a military checkpoint along the Suleja-Zuba Road in Niger State, in which soldiers, security personnel and civilians were killed.

The source further attributed to him the July 11, 2022, attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja; the April 23, 2022 attack on Ogaminana Police Station in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, in which five police officers were killed; and the February 7, 2022, attack on the Okene Area Command Police Station.

“The terrorist planned and executed the December 24, 2020, attack on a Naval checkpoint in Okene, Kogi State, which resulted in the death of two Naval Officers, not to mention the several attacks he launched across parts of the country,” the source added.

The source described Ohida’s elimination as a major setback to ISWAP’s leadership structure and its efforts to establish and expand its operational network in central and southern Nigeria.

“We may not immediately realise it, but the elimination of Abdussamad Ohida represents a significant disruption to ISWAP’s leadership structure, operational network and expansion efforts in central and southern Nigeria.

“Ohida’s elimination, coming a few months after the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bilal al-Minuki, is a very big blow to ISWAP’s efforts to expand its operational presence in Nigeria and underscores the growing efficiency of our security services,” the source said.