A wave of profound relief has swept across Ondo State and the broader southern region of Nigeria following the elimination of Abdussamad Ohida, widely known within insurgent ranks as Anwar, a high-ranking commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Neutralised alongside several of his fighters during a precision, intelligence-led dawn raid in Owo Forest, Ondo State, Ohida’s death marks a decisive victory against terrorist expansion into southern Nigeria.
​The coordinated offensive, executed jointly by operatives of the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Ondo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), backed by intelligence support from international partners, struck the insurgents’ dense forest enclave in Owo Local Government Area at daybreak.
While initial intelligence briefings and state-level reports placed the final tactical assault over the weekend of October 4, 2026, the Defence Headquarters officially logged the broader operational breakthrough as occurring on October 2, 2026.
Security operatives stormed the hideout after actionable intelligence revealed that Ohida and his cell were finalising plots to launch large-scale, coordinated terrorist attacks on civilian targets across southern Nigeria ahead of the 2026 Yuletide festive season and the 2027 general elections.
​Addressing defense correspondents at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja during the monthly operational briefing on Friday, October 30, 2026, the Director of Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General Michael Onoja, formally confirmed Ohida’s neutralisation.
Major General Onoja emphasized that taking out the commander formed a critical part of the Armed Forces’ sustained nationwide offensive to dismantle terrorist leadership structures and protect innocent citizens.
Echoing this resolve in a subsequent strategic update issued on November 5, 2026, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, reiterated the military’s commitment to systematically degrading insurgent war-making capacity across flashpoints including Owo Forest, firmly ruling out any ceasefire negotiations with terrorists.
​At the sub-national level, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa issued an official statement from Akure on October 5, 2026, hailing the operational synergy among the Nigerian Army, the DSS, and the Amotekun Corps for their gallantry and swift execution.
Simultaneously, the Commander of the Ondo State Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, underscored the indispensable role of grassroots intelligence in foiling ISWAP’s southern expansion plot, seizing upon the operational milestone to renew calls for the formal establishment of state policing.
​Security and intelligence dossiers indicate that Abdussamad Ohida assumed command of ISWAP’s operational cells across parts of North-Central and Southern Nigeria following the 2023 arrest of his former superior, ISWAP Central Nigeria leader Abu Ikrimah, also known as Abu Uwais, by the DSS.
Prior to his elimination, Ohida had orchestrated a bloody trail of assaults spanning Ondo, Kogi, Niger, and the Federal Capital Territory. Most recently, on December 31, 2025, he led the brazen invasion and bombing of the Ipele Divisional Police Station in Owo, Ondo State, during which insurgents carted away eight AK-47 rifles.
His operational history also linked him directly to the 2022 Owo church massacre, the Kuje Correctional Centre bombing in Abuja, and the February 7, 2022, attack on the Okene Area Command police station in Kogi State, building upon earlier violence such as the December 24, 2020, fatal ambush on a Nigerian Navy checkpoint in Okene that claimed the lives of two naval personnel.
​Following the successful clearance of the Owo Forest camp, security forces have maintained aggressive, dominant patrols across the axis to prevent fleeing remnants from regrouping, restoring peace of mind and economic confidence among farmers, travelers, and residents throughout Ondo State and neighboring southern communities.
