As part of Operation Desert Sanity V/Siege Operations, the Headquarters of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation Hadin Kai, OPHK, recovered hostages taken by Boko Haram/ISWAP militants in an assault on the Ngoshe community in Borno State’s Gwoza Local Government Area.
The forces have apprehended a number of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists and their accomplices in their ongoing offensive operations across the theatre, according to a statement issued by Lt-Col Sani Uba, the Media Information Officer of the Headquarters Joint Task Force North East Operation Hadin Kai.
Uba said that in Maiduguri, authorities apprehended Private Umar Bema, a deserter from the 50 Task Force Battalion, who had escaped with his own weapon. Bema is currently under investigation for possible involvement in an armed robbery.
He claims that the operations achieved a number of notable successes, including as freeing hostages, neutralising militants, and obtaining the surrender of relatives of insurgents.
The statement said that during the attack on Ngoshe on March 3, 2026, two hostages were freed: Mrs. Maryam Muhammad, 20, and her infant son, Bello Muhammad, 1 year, 4 months.
According to him, the victims were confined in a terrorist enclave in the Mandara Mountains until they managed to escape as a result of military operations targeting rebel hideouts.
Leaders in the community helped get them back together with their families after medical exams.