Nigerian military forces have rescued 92 civilians — including women and children — who were being abducted by Boko Haram-linked insurgents along a remote road in Borno State, in what the army described as a swift intervention that prevented a mass kidnapping.
The operation, carried out on Saturday along the Buratai–Kamuya Road in Biu local government area, was triggered when troops from the 135 Special Forces Battalion spotted militants forcing civilians and their vehicles off the road and into nearby bush paths at around 11:20 in the morning. A quick reaction force was immediately deployed, backed by reinforcements from the 27 Task Force Brigade Garrison.
Soldiers pursued the insurgents towards the Mangari-Dora area, engaging them until they abandoned their captives and fled. All 92 hostages were recovered unharmed — 52 men, 33 women and seven children — along with eight vehicles that had been seized during the abduction.
As troops pressed their pursuit, militants attempted to slow the advance by planting three improvised explosive devices along the Bula Zarma-Mangari axis. All three were located and detonated by an explosive ordnance disposal team, allowing soldiers to continue the chase for a further five kilometres. The military said no personnel or equipment were lost during the operation.
The rescued civilians were provided with welfare support before being escorted to Damaturu in neighbouring Yobe State to continue their journeys.
The attack bears the hallmarks of recurring insurgent tactics in Nigeria’s north-east, where Boko Haram and its Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) offshoot have for years preyed on civilians travelling between rural communities — kidnapping for ransom, forced recruitment, and terror. Borno State remains the epicentre of an insurgency that has displaced millions and claimed tens of thousands of lives since 2009, despite repeated military declarations of progress.
Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, media information officer for Operation Hadin Kai — the joint task force overseeing counter-insurgency operations in the region — said the rescue demonstrated the force’s “operational reach, surveillance capability and combat readiness.” He warned that any further attempts to abduct or attack civilians in the north-east would be met with “swift and overwhelming force.”
