The Presidency on Saturday defended the reported killing of senior Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, insisting that the operation was based on months of coordinated intelligence gathering, surveillance and multi-layered verification.

In a statement issued by presidential spokesman , the Federal Government dismissed doubts surrounding the operation, describing public scepticism as premature and disconnected from the realities of modern counterterrorism warfare.

Al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok or Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, was reportedly neutralised during a joint Nigerian-American military operation targeting senior ISWAP leadership.

According to the statement, controversy emerged after critics recalled that Al-Manuki’s name had previously appeared among lists of suspected ISWAP and Boko Haram commanders reportedly killed during military operations around the Birnin Gwari forest axis in Kaduna State in 2024.

However, security authorities clarified that the earlier report was the result of mistaken identity or misattribution during ongoing counterinsurgency operations.

The Presidency stated that intelligence assessments had since established that Birnin Gwari was never part of Al-Manuki’s known operational territory, casting doubt on the accuracy of the earlier claim.

Officials stressed that the latest operation differed significantly from previous battlefield assessments because it was driven by prolonged Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance efforts, backed by communications monitoring and phone intercepts that reportedly began in December 2025.

According to intelligence sources familiar with the operation, the mission was built on months of digital surveillance, human intelligence and persistent tracking designed to map the ISWAP commander’s movements across northern Nigeria.

Security officials disclosed that authorities initially aimed to capture Al-Manuki alive rather than eliminate him, explaining why he had reportedly remained under surveillance in several locations, including Abuja and Maiduguri, until shortly before the final operation.

The statement said intelligence units deliberately avoided premature action in order not to compromise the broader mission, while continuing efforts to narrow and monitor the target’s movements.

Unlike earlier incidents where battlefield assessments later proved inaccurate, security authorities said the latest operation involved stricter verification standards, precision targeting and multi-source intelligence confirmation before the final strike was approved.

Officials quoted in the statement maintained that multiple layers of validation were applied before authorisation of the “final kinetic action.”

“In this case, there is no ambiguity,” the statement said.

The Presidency acknowledged that counterterrorism operations globally have sometimes produced premature reports of the deaths of high-profile insurgent figures who later resurfaced.

It cited the example of former Boko Haram leader , who was declared dead multiple times before his eventual confirmed death, as well as former ISIS leader , whose death was wrongly reported years before it was eventually confirmed.

According to the statement, such incidents reflect the complex and evolving nature of intelligence gathering in asymmetric warfare rather than outright operational failure.

The Presidency warned that dismissing credible military operations without full knowledge of operational details could weaken public confidence in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and undermine military morale.

It noted that Nigerian security forces and their foreign intelligence partners continue to operate in one of the world’s most difficult insurgency environments, where militants frequently move across borders, use multiple aliases and blend into civilian-populated areas.

Against this backdrop, the statement said, verification procedures are intentionally rigorous before public announcements are made.

While affirming the importance of public scrutiny and democratic accountability, security experts cautioned against what they described as the premature rejection of verified military successes.

The Presidency maintained that the operation against Al-Manuki represented a validated intelligence-driven success against a senior ISWAP figure, insisting that authorities are “100 per cent certain” of the outcome.