Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI, have rescued four abducted civilians, arrested suspected terrorist collaborators and recorded fresh surrenders during ongoing operations across the North-East.
The military disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by the Media Information Officer of Operation HADIN KAI, Lt.-Col. Sani Uba.
According to the statement, the troops achieved the successes under Operation DESERT SANITY V and ongoing siege operations across the theatre.
It said troops operating along the Ngoshe–Amuda axis in Gwoza Local Government Area rescued two women and two children abducted during a terrorist attack on Ngoshe community on March 3, 2026.
The rescued victims were identified as Salamatu Sidiq Ali, 19; Halima Idrisa, 20; Umar Abdullahi, 3; and Mustapha Abdullahi, 4.
“The victims were held in a terrorist enclave but were rescued due to sustained military pressure on insurgent hideouts in the Mandara Mountains,” the statement said.
It added that the victims had undergone medical evaluation and were reunited with their families through community leaders.
The military said a total of 65 abducted persons had so far been rescued, while efforts were ongoing to secure the release of others.
In a related development, troops arrested a suspected terrorist collaborator, Mrs Kellu Alhaji Abba, 50, at a checkpoint in Baga in Kukawa Local Government Area.
Items recovered from the suspect included clothing materials and other supplies allegedly meant for delivery to a terrorist operative in the Dumba area.
Similarly, troops apprehended another suspected logistics supplier, Mr Amadu Abdu, 50, along the Dalori axis while transporting packaged items allegedly intended for terrorists.
The military said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect supplied logistics to insurgents in exchange for access to grazing areas.
Recovered items included packaged goods, a mobile phone, a cutlass, suspected illicit substances and cash.
The statement further disclosed that troops, in conjunction with local hunters, arrested four suspected cattle rustlers and terrorist collaborators at Kwaya Kusar Market with stolen livestock.
It added that the suspects were undergoing investigation.
Operation HADIN KAI also recorded the surrender of family members linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.
Among those who surrendered were Aishatu Sale, 20, in Bama Local Government Area and Hauwa Abubakar, 70, who reportedly escaped from a terrorist enclave in the Mandara Mountains.
The military said the surrendered persons attributed their decision to flee to sustained military pressure and lack of basic necessities within terrorist camps.
It stated that all surrendered persons had been profiled and were undergoing necessary procedures.
The troops also recovered one AK-47 rifle and a loaded magazine along a known terrorist withdrawal route.
The military high command commended the troops for their performance and urged them to sustain the operational tempo in the interest of security and economic stability in the North-East and the country at large.
