Army, DSS say alleged senior ISWAP commander killed in Ondo operation
The Nigerian Army and the Department of State Services say Abdussamad Ohida, also known as Anwar, was killed during a joint security operation in a forest around Owo, Ondo State.
The Army’s 32 Artillery Brigade said the operation involved military personnel, the DSS and operatives of the Western Nigeria Security Network, also known as Amotekun.
Maj. Innocent Olamale, Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the brigade, confirmed the operation.
Security agencies described Ohida as a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province.
IDNN is retaining that description as an attributed security-agency characterisation rather than an independent judicial finding.
Joint operation around Owo
The Army account places the operation in a forest around Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area.
The DSS separately said Ohida was killed during the joint operation with the Army and Amotekun.
IDNN is not publishing tactical coordinates, access routes, intelligence methods or other operational details that could affect continuing security activity.
Security agencies describe Ohida as senior ISWAP figure
The Army and DSS describe Ohida as a senior ISWAP figure.
Earlier security-source reporting also alleged that he had served in senior operational roles within the group.
Those claims about internal command structure rely on intelligence and security-agency accounts.
They have not been independently established by IDNN.
Claims of planned attacks remain attributed
Security sources and the DSS have also alleged that Ohida was involved in plans for attacks in southern Nigeria.
Some reports further claimed that planned operations were intended to disrupt the 2027 general election.
Those remain intelligence and security-agency allegations.
IDNN is not presenting them as independently proven facts.
No publicly tested evidence establishing those alleged plans has been reviewed by IDNN.
Links to earlier attacks also remain allegations
Security-source reporting has linked Ohida to previous attacks on security and public institutions.
Those allegations have not been independently tested in court or publicly substantiated with evidence reviewed by IDNN.
The distinction matters because a security-agency allegation is not the same as a judicial finding of criminal responsibility.
Ohida was reportedly killed during the operation and will therefore not face a court process on the allegations now being made against him.
Wider casualty figure remains unclear
Reports indicate that other suspected members of the group may also have been killed.
However, the official accounts reviewed by IDNN do not establish a consistent wider casualty figure.
IDNN is therefore not publishing a number beyond the confirmed killing of Ohida.
What is established
What is established is that the Nigerian Army and DSS say Abdussamad Ohida, also known as Anwar, was killed during a joint security operation around Owo in Ondo State.
Security agencies describe him as a senior ISWAP commander.
What remains dependent on security-agency attribution are claims about his exact command role, alleged planned attacks, responsibility for previous attacks and the number of other people reportedly killed during the operation.
The next accountability questions are whether authorities will release a fuller public account of the operation, what evidence supports the wider intelligence claims, whether any suspects were arrested, and whether the Army or DSS will clarify the number of other casualties without compromising ongoing operations.
