ISWAP, Boko Haram Plot Attack on Abuja Airport and Kuje Prison — Security Agencies on High Alert

An internal Nigeria Customs Service memo dated April 13 has warned that ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters have infiltrated the Federal Capital Territory and are planning coordinated attacks on Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Kuje Custodial Centre, and a military detention facility in Wawa, Niger State.

The two-page document, signed by Deputy Comptroller General Timi Bomodi of the Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation unit, says the attacks are being planned by fighters from ISWAP, Boko Haram, Ansaru, and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen (JNIM). The document states that ISWAP fighters have already infiltrated the FCT in preparation for the airport and prison attacks, with the primary goal of freeing detained insurgents.

The pattern

The memo notes that the planned airport attack bore similarities to Islamic State strikes on aviation facilities in Niamey and Tahoua in the Niger Republic, suggesting a possible intent to replicate that pattern inside Nigeria. This is not theoretical. In July 2022, a coordinated attack on Kuje Correctional Centre by various terrorist groups led to the release of 64 detainees. Three months later, terrorists attempted to breach the Wawa Cantonment in Borgu LGA of Niger State to free detained insurgents. That assault was repelled, but the intent was clear.

The Sadiku Boko Haram faction, which operates alongside Ansaru and JNIM near Kainji Lake National Park, has been linked to some of the most brazen kidnappings in recent memory: over 300 students and staff at St. Mary’s Catholic school in Papiri (July 2025), and more than 100 women and children from Woro in Kwara State.

The response

The Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Nigeria Correctional Service have all confirmed they are strengthening security around airports and custodial centres. Immigration has increased surveillance at entry points. The Correctional Service has reinforced prison perimeters. Police have deployed additional personnel to Abuja’s airport and surrounding facilities.

But the question Nigerians are asking is straightforward: if the intelligence was specific enough to name the targets, the groups, and the methods, why is the response limited to “strengthening security”? If ISWAP fighters have already infiltrated the FCT, as the memo claims, what is being done to find and neutralise them before they strike?

The ACF declared Nigeria is in a “state of war.” The military is burying generals. JAMB candidates are being kidnapped on highways. And now the nation’s capital is reportedly under infiltration by terrorists planning to attack its airport and free its prisoners. The memo is dated April 13. Today is April 17. Four days of publicly known threat intelligence, and the visible response is perimeter reinforcement.

Sources: Punch, NaijaNews, FDSUR