Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East) Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have foiled an attempted kidnap by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.
The spokesman of Operation Hadin Kai, Sani Uba, said troops rescued 150 victims in the operation.
“All rescued civilians, estimated at over 150, were safely recovered and moved to Buratai for onward movement to reunite with their families,” Uba said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
He said the victims, comprising men, women, and children, were about to be forced into about 17 vehicles before troops came in contact with the terrorists.
Uba said the incident occurred on March 30 when troops came under attack while escorting civilians along the Buratai–Kamuya axis in the Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.
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“While decisively engaging the terrorists, surveillance assets identified the insurgents attempting to abduct a large number of civilians, comprising men, women, and children, in about 17 vehicles into the bush,” his statement read.
But in a swift and coordinated response, the Quick Reaction Force rapidly reinforced the location, repelled the attack, and immediately launched a pursuit towards the Mangari area.
“The aggressive pressure exerted by troops forced the terrorists to abandon all abducted civilians and vehicles, effectively thwarting the mass kidnapping attempt,” he said.
While five troops sustained severe injuries and were receiving treatment in the hospital, Uba said the military personnel encountered an improvised explosive device along the Bula Zarma-Mangari axis.
In Borno state, the epicentre of insurgency since Boko Haram’s 2009 uprising, attacks from Boko Haram and splinter Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) “significantly increased” last year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a US-based monitor.
ACLED recorded 401 military confrontations, 104 bombings, and 141 attacks on civilians in Borno in 2025 — cumulatively, “the most since 2020”, Ladd Serwat, senior Africa analyst, told AFP.
Some 71 suicide bombings were recorded in 2015, according to ACLED, a number that in recent years had ticked down to fewer than five per year.
ISWAP, since last year, has stepped up assaults on military bases, attacking four installations recently, the army said. Similar “coordinated” attacks on military sites were reported the week before.
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