Troops Rescue Six Abducted Victims In Borno

Troops of the Joint Task Force, North East, Operation Hadin Kai, have rescued six women and children abducted by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in Ngoshe village, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

This Video Is Trending Right Now →

The rescue was disclosed in a statement on Friday by the Media Information Officer, Headquarters Joint Task Force North East, Operation Hadin Kai, Lt. Col. Sani Uba.

According to the statement, the victims were rescued during a coordinated operation following sustained offensives, including air interdiction missions targeting terrorist hideouts in the Mandara Mountains.

Uba said troops acted on credible intelligence and intercepted the victims while returning from a successful overnight offensive operation in the early hours of May 1, 2026.

He said the victims were rescued around Amuda, a deserted area between Ngoshe and Gava, known for terrorist movement.

The rescued persons were identified as 18-year-old Zainab Idris; 17-year-old Fatima Abubakar; 24-year-old Maimuna Abdulrashid; one-year-old Muhammad Idris; seven-year-old Sadiq Abdullahi, and five-year-old Fatima Abdulrashid.

Preliminary debriefing showed that the victims were among residents abducted during an attack on the Ngoshe community on March 3, 2026.

They were said to have been held in captivity in a terrorist enclave in Gava before they managed to escape.

The statement added that troops came under sporadic fire during the rescue as fleeing terrorists attempted to pursue the escapees.

Uba said the troops responded swiftly, engaged the terrorists briefly and forced them to withdraw into the mountains.

Military Cites Pressure On Terrorists

The statement said intensified military pressure had weakened terrorist cohesion and caused disarray within their ranks, leading to desperation and escape attempts by captives.

It added that among earlier escapees was a 16-year-old girl allegedly forced into marriage by a terrorist commander.

After the rescue, the victims were given first aid and medical attention at a military facility before being handed over to community leaders.

They were later reunited with their families in Ngoshe through the Wali of Ngoshe, Alhaji Shuaibu Dabawa, in what the statement described as an emotional ceremony.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria reaffirmed their commitment to securing communities, rescuing abducted persons and eliminating terrorist elements across the North-East.

The military also urged residents to continue providing credible intelligence to security agencies.

The Military High Command commended the troops for their performance and encouraged them to sustain ongoing offensive operations across the theatre.