Boko Haram abduction foiled: Soldiers rescue 150 travellers in Borno
By: Abudu Olalekan
Troops interrupt a planned mass kidnapping along the Buratai–Kamuya route. 150 civilians saved, five soldiers wounded. The fight out there never really stops.
March 30, 2026. Mid-afternoon. The Buratai–Kamuya road in Borno. It’s supposed to be just another transit day for civilians heading home. But the bush had other plans. Insurgents were waiting. They wanted to pull over seventeen vehicles, herd men, women, and kids into the trees, and vanish. They didn’t count on the escort.
Troops from Operation Hadin Kai were right there. Sector 2, deployed at Dutse Kura. When the ambush kicked off, they didn’t hesitate. Quick Reaction Force rolled in fast. The firefight was sharp, coordinated. Pressure mounted. The terrorists broke. Left everything behind. The vehicles. The hostages. All of it.
Over 150 civilians walked out. Shaken, but alive. Troops moved them straight to Buratai so they could link up with family, simple as that. But it wasn’t clean. During the pursuit toward Mangari, the road hid a trap. An IED. Five soldiers took heavy hits. They got evacuated fast for specialist care. It’s a reminder, really. Every mile out there costs something.
Lt Col Sani Uba, the Northeast JTF media officer, put it out Monday evening. He didn’t dress it up. The troops showed dominance. Again. He noted how surveillance caught the abduction attempt mid-play, and how the rapid push forced the insurgents to drop their prize. Uba stressed that this kind of vigilance isn’t accidental. It’s posture. And with Easter coming, the military’s keeping the pressure on. High Command praised the unit’s grit. Told them to stay aggressive.
This isn’t the first time this month either. Back on March 7, Reportersroom covered how Hadin Kai troops broke up midnight assaults on four bases across Borno. Konduga, Marte, Jakana, Mainok. The insurgents tried to overrun them. They failed. Neutralised instead.
The northeast remains a hard place, days like March 30 prove the lines are holding. Civilians get home. Troops bleed, but they hold. The mission’s messy, it always is. Yet the resolve doesn’t waver. Not yet.
