<p>Incessant pollution of water by azo dyes, especially Congo red (CR) and methylene blue (MB), is a global concern. Metal nanoparticles have been widely employed in adsorption due to their excellent physicochemical properties. However, iron oxide nanoparticle aggregates are formed when exposed to air. Hence, metal-organic framework (MOF-5) was imprinted on the nano ferrite to form a composite, addressing the limitation. MOF-5 is selected due to its excellent adsorbent properties. The metal nanoparticle synthesized is MnFe₂O₄, and its MOF-imprinted composite is MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5. In this study, MnFe₂O₄ and MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5 synthesized were investigated for their adsorptive capacities for removing CR and MB from water. From the scanning electron micrograph, it was observed that the surfaces of MnFe₂O₄ and MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5 are heterogeneous with particles that are not regularly shaped. Furthermore, the diffraction patterns from the XRD results confirmed the imprinting of MOF-5 on MnFe₂O₄ to form MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5. The adsorption capacities displayed by MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5 towards MB (88.9&#xa0;mg&#xa0;g⁻¹) and CR (100&#xa0;mg&#xa0;g⁻¹) are higher than those of MnFe₂O₄. Adsorption of CR and MB to MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5 was pH-dependent. A 100% adsorption of CR was also observed at neutral pH, and at an adsorbent (MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5) weight of 0.1&#xa0;g (at 20&#xa0;min). The pHpzc for MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5 is 6.2. An increase in adsorbent dosage has no significant effect on the sorption process. The sorption process fits better with the Langmuir isotherm. It can also be well described with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The surface of MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5 is best regenerated for MB with NaOH (0.1&#xa0;M), whereas deionized water achieved a better result for CR with 99% regeneration. This study identified MnFe₂O₄@MOF-5 as an efficient adsorbent for the purification of water systems contaminated with MB or CR, highlighting its potential in environmental remediation.</p>