Operatives of the Nigerian Army successfully rescued 119 captives and retrieved eight vehicles following a targeted security operation in Borno State. The military high command confirmed these developments in an operational briefing released in Abuja on Saturday, detailing a series of successful interventions across different regions of the country.
How was the Borno rescue operation executed?
The primary rescue mission was executed by personnel attached to the 135 Special Forces Battalion while they were monitoring electronic surveillance along the Dutsen Kura-Bulazarma-Kamuya axis. Upon spotting armed insurgents abducting residents and seizing vehicles, the combat team quickly mobilized through the Mangari-Dora axis within the Biu Local Government Area to intercept the attackers.
Confronted by superior firepower, the insurgents fled in disarray, abandoning their captives and the seized transport vehicles. The rescued citizens were subsequently reunited with their families, while military engineers successfully located and neutralized an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near the Bam-Buratai Junction and Bulazarma general area.
What other security successes were recorded?
In a related development, an operative belonging to the Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction surrendered to the 202 Battalion at Ngurusoye Village in the Bama Local Government Area. The defector reportedly escaped his group's stronghold in Bula Daloye due to intense internal clashes with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and severe operational hardship. He turned himself in with an FN rifle and seven rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, and is currently undergoing interrogation in military custody.
Meanwhile, security forces operating alongside the Hybrid Force apprehended a suspected insurgent informant in Ngamdu Town, Borno State, on November 5. In Abuja, troops from the Army Headquarters Garrison thwarted a midnight abduction attempt targeting a retired senior military officer and his son at Kurudu Phase Five. The assailants stormed the residence at approximately 4:05 a.m., but rapid military intervention forced them to flee. The victims, who sustained knife injuries during the assault, were promptly rushed to a nearby medical facility for treatment.
Additional operations conducted under Operation Enduring Peace led to the arrest of two suspected burglars in the Doi community of Jos South Local Government Area, Plateau State, as they attempted to raid a poultry farm. The suspects have been handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation. Similarly, troops from Operation Whirl Stroke detained a herdsman in Benue State over allegations of illegal and malicious grazing on farmlands in Tse Tur, Gwer West Local Government Area.