It seems we have a classic case of “who said what when” when it comes to the alleged demise of an ISIS Commander named Abu-Bilal al-Mainuki. The story unfolds with a stark contrast between what two world leaders, Donald Trump and Bola Tinubu, claimed, and what the Nigerian military had already announced much earlier. At the heart of it all is Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, who isn’t shy about calling out what he sees as inconsistency and, frankly, a bit of an oversight.
It all started when Donald Trump, the former US President, proudly announced that the “most active terrorist in the world” had been taken out. He identified this individual as Abu-Bilal al-Mainuki. Hot on Trump’s heels, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu corroborated the claim, adding that this significant blow against terrorism was a result of a joint Nigerian-American counterterrorism operation. President Tinubu even went a step further, expressing his eagerness for more collaborative efforts with the US in the future. On the surface, this looked like a unified front celebrating a major victory against a shared enemy.
However, a closer look, specifically by Daily Trust, revealed a rather glaring detail: the Nigerian Defence Headquarters had already listed Al-Mainuki among terrorists neutralized between January and March 2024 – two years prior to this fresh round of announcements. Back then, Edward Buba, who was the Director of Defence Media Operations, held a press conference in Abuja. He explicitly named Minuki (also known as Abubakar Mainok) as the head of Is-Al Furqan Province (ISGS and ISWAP). Buba detailed how Minuki operated in the Birnin Gwari Forest in Kaduna State and along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway, and quite emphatically stated that this terror commander was killed on February 21, 2024. He even reeled off a list of over 50 other combatants, including various “Kachallas,” who were also killed during that period.
This is where Femi Falana steps in, using his platform to cut through the confusion. In a statement he released, Falana pointed out the clear discrepancy: the Nigerian troops had already announced the terrorist leader’s death in 2024, long before Trump’s recent declaration, which President Tinubu then seemed to confirm. Falana didn’t mince words, suggesting that President Tinubu, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, should really be consulting his own Defence Headquarters for accurate information on counter-insurgency operations, rather than relying on what Falana termed “erroneous claims” from a foreign leader.
Falana’s core argument is that Trump’s claim is misleading. He stressed that the dangerous terrorist, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, was indeed killed in 2024 by patriotic Nigerian forces, and this information was widely published by Nigerian media outlets at the time. His frustration was palpable, not just with the factual misstep, but with the broader implication. Falana believes that the Nigerian government shouldn’t be looking to a foreign regime – especially one that struggles with its own internal issues like gun violence – for validation on its security achievements. Instead, he argued, the Federal Government should prioritize adequately equipping and maintaining its own armed forces, as mandated by the Nigerian Constitution, to effectively tackle its national security challenges.