The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said that more than 20 ISIS/ISWAP fighters have been killed in multiple US-Nigeria air strikes in Metele, Borno state.

Samaila Uba, director of defence information at the DHQ, in a statement on Monday, said the strikes followed “observed convergence and migration of terrorist elements”.

“The ongoing operations follow the neutralisation of ISIS commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki and are part of sustained efforts to disrupt terrorist networks, remove them from the battlefield and deny the terrorists any safe haven within Nigeria,” the statement reads.

It added: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria will continue to aggressively defend the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the nation.

“Terrorists who threaten our citizens, communities and national stability will be located and defeated.

“There will be no safe haven for all terrorists anywhere in Nigeria.”

The United States Africa Command (US-Africom) confirmed the development on its website, stating that the “kinetic strikes against ISIS in Northeastern Nigeria” were carried out on Sunday in coordination with the Nigerian government.

“Intelligence confirmed the targets were ISIS militants. Complete assessments are ongoing. No U.S. or Nigerian forces were harmed,” US-Africom said.

“The removal of these terrorists diminishes the group’s capacity to plan attacks that threaten the safety and security of the U.S. and our partners.”

Last Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS second-in-command, had been killed in Nigeria.

Trump said al-Minuki was killed in a “complex mission” carried out by Nigerian and American troops.

The US president shared updates of the operation in a social media post in the wee hours of Saturday.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has disclosed that one of the teachers abducted during the recent terrorist attack on schools in Oriire LGA of the state, has been killed in captivity.

The governor, while speaking on Sunday during a press briefing on the incident, described the situation as “difficult and challenging”, saying the state government is intensifying efforts to rescue the remaining victims.

It would be recalled that gunmen, reportedly riding motorcycles, invaded communities within the Ahoro-Esiele/Yawota axis of Oriire, Ogbomoso on Friday, and abducted students and staff members of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, L.A. Primary School, Esiele, and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.

The attack left an assistant headmaster, identified as Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist dead.

According to Makinde, a video received by the state government confirmed the killing of one of the abductees identified as a mathematics teacher.

“What we know is that seven teachers in all were abducted and unfortunately, we got a video this morning that one of the teachers, the maths teacher, was killed by the terrorists this morning,” Makinde said.

Authorities have yet to confirm the exact number of schoolchildren abducted.

In the aftermath of the incident, videos recorded from captivity began circulating on social media, showing abducted teachers pleading with the government and Nigerians for urgent intervention.

One of the viral videos featured Rachael Alamu, principal of Community High School, Esiele, appealing to the government to help secure the release of the victims before they are killed.

Makinde detailed that six persons had been arrested within the affected locality over alleged links to the attackers, and that another three “persons of interest” were also arrested in connection with the attack.

“The information available from the commissioner of police is that six individuals have been arrested within the locality. Some of them were believed to perhaps be informants to people running logistics for the terrorists,” he said.

Following the attack, the Oyo police command announced the commencement of an intensive manhunt and rescue operation involving multiple security agencies.

Makinde said personnel of the police, military, the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun, and local hunters were mobilised immediately to pursue the attackers.

The governor said, however, some Amotekun operatives sustained injuries after encountering improvised explosive devices planted by the terrorists during the operation.

“After the incident, Amotekun, the police, military and hunters were mobilised to go after the terrorists and it was along that line that they ran into IEDs and some of the Amotekun operatives were wounded,” he said.

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“Apart from air raid, the Old Oyo National Park Area can’t be easily accessed through infantry. It’s a long distance from the Oowe River which forms a natural landmark boundary for the park. Motorcycles would have to be used for the journey, but the noise of the approaching motorcycles alerted the terrorists.”

Makinde linked the attack to increasing pressure being mounted on terrorist groups in the north-east, warning that fleeing armed groups are moving into other parts of the country, including the south-west.

“With the pressure on the terrorists in the north-east theatre, they will keep moving southwards. Today, the governor of Kwara state has spoken to me. But the problem we have is that when you have pressure in one place, we must be prepared on this side to either repel or neutralise any terrorists fleeing the pressure,” he said.

The governor harped on the need for sustained government and security presence in vulnerable communities, warning that temporary military operations without long-term security measures could leave residents exposed to future attacks.

“If all we can do is clearance operations for a week or two and leave that place, the terrorists will come back and the people will become vulnerable,” he said.

He assured residents that the state government would be deploying military and non-military strategies to secure the release of the abducted victims and tackle the growing security threat.

“We have decided that we will adopt not just the kinetic approach. We have not taken this lightly,” he added.

Makinde also appealed for calm and patience from residents, acknowledging the complexity of the operation.

“I want to appeal to everyone that we are doing everything within our power to ensure that this would be resolved quickly and we bring our children back safely, but it is a very difficult and challenging situation so there may not be quick fixes,” he added.

1. Two videos of victims of abduction in Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, and Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Ogbomoso Yawota area in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, pleading with the federal and state governments to come to their rescue, went viral on social media on Sunday, sparking outrage as the Senate and Yoruba leaders demanded urgent action from the government to secure their release.

The PUNCH reports that terrorists on motorbikes attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esinele; and L.A. Primary School, all in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, around 9:30 am on Friday, May 15.

2. Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar has declared Monday 18th May, 2026 as the first day of Zulhijja 1447AH. This was contained in a statement issued Sunday night by Wazirin Sokoto and Chairman, Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, Sultanate Council Sokoto, Professor Sambo Wali Junaidu.

3. Lagos State Government has intensified efforts to improve water transportation across the state, with the completion of more than 50 kilometres of channelisation works along major ferry routes. Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Dayo Alebiosu, said this during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held at Alausa, Ikeja

4. Senate President Godswill Akpabio; his deputy, Jibrin Barau; Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Tahir Monguno, alongside five serving governors and former governors, are among prominent figures expected to contest in today’s senatorial primaries of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

5. A fresh power tussle has erupted in the Labour Party as Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, and the party’s national leadership clashed with embattled former National Chairman, Julius Abure, over the sale of nomination forms ahead of the 2027 general elections..Abure was accused of acting in defiance of court rulings and the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

6. The House of Representatives primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections have ignited one of the most intense internal political crises in recent years, with at least 26 serving lawmakers losing return tickets.
Several other aspirants were disqualified, and multiple withdrawals were recorded amid allegations of manipulation, imposition, and consensus engineering

7. Residents of Oke Egan in the Ilogbo-Eremi area of Badagry, Lagos State, were thrown into shock on Friday after the body of a sexagenarian woman, Victoria Adegoke, was found abandoned in a nearby bush. PUNCH Metro learnt from community sources on Sunday that the deceased was allegedly found naked and was suspected of having been raped and strangled before her body was dragged into the bush

8. The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has declared that he would work to ensure President Bola Tinubu is not re-elected in the 2027 general election. Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Tinubu, stated this on Sunday during an interview with Channels TV, while reacting to claims that he was working for the President following his previous role in Tinubu’s administration.

9. The Nigerian Navy has dismantled an illegally reconstructed refining cluster, along the Rivers–Bayelsa border , recovering about 8,500 litres of suspected petroleum products. Navy Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho, the Director of Naval Information, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

10. Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps) has launched an intensive forest and community-wide operation following the abduction of dozens of pupils and a teacher during coordinated attacks on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. Commandant of the corps, Col. Olayanju Olayinka (retd.), confirmed on Sunday that Amotekun operatives are at the forefront of ongoing rescue efforts.