Confusion has continued to trail the reported killing of senior ISWAP commander Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok, after Nigerian authorities previously announced his death in 2024.
The controversy intensified after Donald Trump announced that American and Nigerian forces had carried out a successful joint operation targeting the terrorist leader.
Trump, Tinubu Confirm Operation
In a post shared on Truth Social, Trump described Al-Manuki as one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists.
“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Trump wrote.
He added that the operation would weaken ISIS operations globally and reduce threats against both Africans and Americans.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu also confirmed the operation in a statement issued from the State House.
According to Tinubu, Nigerian troops worked alongside United States forces in a “daring joint operation” targeting terrorist hideouts in the Lake Chad Basin.
“Early assessments confirm the elimination of the wanted IS senior leader, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, along with several of his lieutenants,” Tinubu stated.
The President also thanked the United States government for its support in counterterrorism operations.
Military Had Earlier Declared Him Dead
However, findings have shown that the Nigerian military had already announced Al-Manuki’s death in 2024.
In April 2024, the Defence Headquarters listed Abu Bilal Minuki among terrorist commanders allegedly neutralised during military operations conducted between January and March 2024.
The announcement was made by then Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba.
At the time, Buba identified Minuki as the “Head of IS-Al Furqan Province (ISGS and ISWAP)” and said he was killed during military operations around the Birnin Gwari forest axis and Abuja-Kaduna corridor.
According to the briefing, the insurgent commander was allegedly eliminated on February 21, 2024.
The military also announced that thousands of terrorists had been killed, arrested or displaced during the period under review.
Who Is Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki?
Security reports identify Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mainuki, also known as Abu Bilal Al-Minuki or Abubakar Mainok, as a senior ISIS-linked commander operating across West Africa and the Sahel.
According to the Counter Extremism Project, Al-Manuki was born in Mainok, Borno State, in 1982 and later became a major figure within ISIS-aligned structures in the Lake Chad Basin.
The United States government designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in June 2023 over alleged involvement in ISIS operations.
Authorities linked him to ISIS’s al-Furqan network, which coordinates extremist activities across Nigeria, the Sahel and parts of West Africa.
He was also reportedly involved in weapons manufacturing, explosives development, drone operations and ISIS propaganda activities.
Questions Continue Over Contradictory Claims
The conflicting reports surrounding his alleged deaths in 2024 and 2026 have continued to generate debate online and within security circles.
While Nigerian and US authorities insist the latest operation was based on months of intelligence gathering and target verification, sceptics have questioned why his death had previously been announced by the military.
Security analysts, however, argue that mistaken battlefield identification and conflicting intelligence assessments are not uncommon in counterterrorism operations involving insurgent groups that use aliases and operate across difficult terrains.