In a chilling display of resilience and terror, Boko Haram insurgents have struck again—this time abducting a serving Nigerian soldier and several civilians along the volatile Damaturu-Maiduguri highway in Borno State.
Sources told SaharaReporters that the ambush unfolded on Friday evening when unsuspecting travellers aboard a commercial bus were intercepted by gunmen dressed in military camouflage. The insurgents mounted a roadblock on the highway, a known flashpoint of terror activities, and meticulously screened passengers for government-issued identity cards—specifically targeting military personnel.
“On Friday evening, along Maiduguri/Damaturu Road, Boko Haram fighters blocked the highway for hours, searching for military personnel who usually travel in commercial vehicles,” a source revealed. “Unfortunately, they found a serving soldier and whisked him away, along with other passengers, to an unknown location.”
Attempts to reach military authorities for official comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
This latest abduction underscores the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria’s North-East, where Boko Haram and its splinter groups—particularly the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)—continue to exert brutal control despite over a decade of military campaigns and billions spent on counterinsurgency.
Since its violent resurgence in 2009, Boko Haram has waged a relentless war on Nigeria’s sovereignty, unleashing waves of bombings, mass kidnappings, and assaults on both civilian and military targets. The insurgency has claimed over 35,000 lives and displaced more than two million people, making it one of the gravest humanitarian crises on the African continent.
Although former President Muhammadu Buhari declared in 2015 that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated,” the group—and its more sophisticated offshoots—have continued to strike with impunity, exposing deep flaws in Nigeria’s security architecture. Critics accuse the military of underreporting casualties and inflating successes, even as the terror network expands its footprint across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states.
The continued targeting of military personnel travelling incognito highlights a grim reality: the insurgents’ intelligence-gathering capacity is improving, and their ability to infiltrate and terrorize remains alarmingly potent. With regional forces such as the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) stretched thin and support from international partners waning, the road to peace in the North-East appears long and perilous.
As families await word on their abducted loved ones, including the unidentified soldier, the Nigerian government faces renewed pressure to re-strategize and reclaim territory lost not just physically—but psychologically—to fear.
PIONEER NEWS 