Operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) have arrested two men suspected to be members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Lagos State.
The suspects, identified as Modu Gana and Ibrahim Dugge, were taken into custody on Sunday, 21 December, in the Apapa area of the state. According to a security source familiar with the operation, the arrests were carried out at about 8:45 a.m., after which the suspects were moved to a secure facility for interrogation.
The source disclosed that the arrests followed intelligence reports indicating that the suspects had recently fled Nigeria’s insurgency-hit North-east and relocated to Lagos. The purpose of their presence in the commercial capital, however, remains unclear.
When contacted, an official of the SSS media unit said the arrests were yet to be formally brought to their attention. The agency has maintained a low-profile media approach in recent times, explaining that limited public disclosure enhances its intelligence-gathering and operational effectiveness.
As of press time, there was no indication that the suspects were planning an attack in Lagos. Nonetheless, security experts have warned that ISWAP has been seeking to expand its operations beyond its traditional strongholds in the North-east.
Nigeria has battled Boko Haram and its offshoots for over 15 years. Internal splits within the insurgent group in 2012 and 2016 gave rise to rival factions, including ISWAP, and widened the scope of the conflict beyond Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
Despite the heavy toll of the insurgency—marked by thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions—security forces have intensified counterterrorism operations. In May, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, disclosed that over 13,500 Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters had been killed, while more than 124,000 others surrendered within the first two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.