A joint operation involving the Nigerian Army, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Western Nigeria Security Network, known as Amotekun, has killed a senior Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander, Abdussamad Ohida, in Owo forest, Ondo State, security sources said.
Ohida, also known as Anwar, was killed alongside other members of the terrorist group during a surprise assault on their forest hideout at the weekend, according to the sources.
The sources said Ohida previously served as deputy to ISWAP’s Central Nigeria commander, Abu Ikrimah, also known as Abu Uwais, who was arrested by the DSS in 2023. Following Ikrimah’s arrest, Ohida allegedly took over ISWAP operations across parts of North-Central and southern Nigeria.
The sources said intelligence obtained during Ikrimah’s interrogation indicated that Ohida was planning attacks on civilians during the forthcoming Yuletide period, with an alleged broader objective of disrupting the 2027 general elections. They added that the intelligence was corroborated by UK intelligence partners.
Ohida was also linked by the sources to several attacks, including the December 31, 2025, invasion of Ipele Divisional Police Station in Owo, where eight AK-47 rifles were reportedly stolen before the station was destroyed with explosives.
Other attacks attributed to him include the July 28, 2022, attack on a military checkpoint along the Suleja–Zuba Road in Niger State; the July 11, 2022, attack on Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja; the April 23, 2022, assault 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.
The sources also linked Ohida to the December 24, 2020, attack on a naval checkpoint in Okene, Kogi State, which left two naval officers dead.
A security source described Ohida’s death as a disruption to ISWAP’s leadership and operational network in central and southern Nigeria.
His reported elimination comes months after the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bilal al-Minuki, another development the source said could affect the group’s efforts to expand its operations in Nigeria.