33 civilians and security personnel killed, at least 47 militants killed, about 66 abducted, 131 rescued
This week’s attacks left at least 33 civilians and security personnel dead — 8 in Adamawa and an estimated 25 in Plateau — with casualty figures in Plateau still disputed. At least 47 militants were killed in military operations, including 38 in Borno airstrikes, 8 in the Timbuktu Triangle, and one suspect killed during a rescue in Benue. About 66 people were abducted across Adamawa, Niger, and Kwara, while security forces rescued 131 captives in operations spanning Kaduna, Katsina, Benue, Kwara, Taraba, and Borno.
Farmers fled Boko Haram in Adamawa, more than 20 people were killed in Plateau, and dozens of worshippers were dragged into forests after Friday prayers. Across Nigeria’s forests, however, troops were closing in — rescuing captives and unleashing airstrikes that killed dozens of suspected terrorists.
Adamawa Attack Sends Farmers Fleeing
The first major attack of the week came Monday, Aug. 17, in northeastern Adamawa State, where suspected Boko Haram fighters raided communities around Gaya-Dlang in Hong County at about 5 p.m., according to local officials.
The attackers killed eight residents — one police officer and seven civilians — while looting shops and stealing medicines and food supplies. As gunfire spread, villagers fled into the surrounding bush. Several were injured in the scramble.
“They came under cover of night and launched a bloody attack,” Hong County Chairman Aliyu Sa’ad said.
Hours later, TruthNigeria confirmed a second attack along the Gaya-Dlang corridor. Insurgents looted food stores, abducted four girls and wounded several residents.
The attacks came just two days after troops, working with local hunters, raided a suspected kidnappers’ camp in Maigero Village, Song County.
The raid forced the kidnapping gang to flee into the forest, and troops recovered AK-47 magazines, ammunition, and chains used to restrain victims.
But the violence around Gaya-Dlang has continued to push farmers away from their fields.
“There is serious fear because 80 percent of our peasant farmers who are farming in that area have abandoned their farms,” Hong said.
Army Moves Tactical HQ to Mangu After Deadly Plateau Assault
Farmers in rural communities in the Northeast were not the only ones facing armed attacks.
In Northcentral Plateau State, heavily armed assailants invaded Bin-Per, a farming community in Kombun District of Mangu County, in the early hours of Tuesday, Aug. 18.
The death toll remains disputed.
Nigerian troops recovered 16 bodies during an initial search. Other reports put the toll at 23, including women and children.
Reuters reported at least 25 deaths, while Nigerian media quoting residents reported higher figures. TheGuardian reported no fewer than 26 people killed.
The attackers reportedly entered the community from the Bokkos axis through an isolated route.
The Nigerian Army responded the following day by moving the tactical headquarters of Operation Enduring Peace from Jos to Mangu.
Major General Maxwell Dangana, commander of Operation Enduring Peace and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division, said the relocation would give him a closer view of developments and allow for on-the-spot assessments.
“We are here to clear every area for the period we are going to be here and make sure that our citizens here are safe and remain very safe,” the GOC said.
Northcentral Hit by Fresh Abductions
On Friday, Aug. 22, Islamist jihadists struck remote communities in Borgu County of Northcentral Niger State, shortly after Muslim worshippers had completed Friday prayers.
Residents of Gidan Zana, Masaka and Sabon Gida were among those targeted.
Police confirmed the abductions but gave no figure. The command said no deaths had been reported and that military personnel had been deployed to the area.
Residents, however, described a mass kidnapping. Estimates ranged from 60 to 80 people.
Borgu Area Council Chairman Abdullahi Mohammed Nasir put the number at at least 60 and said an unspecified number of people suffered gunshot wounds while trying to escape.
“People were abducted while praying at a Juma’at mosque on Friday,” Nasir told AFP. “That was when the bad people came and surrounded the mosque and took them away.”
Niger State Police spokesman SP Wasiu Abiodun confirmed the abduction but said difficult terrain and poor roads were slowing the security response.
A collapsed bridge connecting the affected communities to the Borgu County headquarters had further complicated the rescue operation.
The wave of abductions extended into Northcentral Kwara State, where suspected Fulani militia separately kidnapped the first wife of a traditional ruler and a monarch in two communities.
The first wife of the Baale of Dabu in Ifelodun Local Council Area, identified as Iya Ayoka, was reportedly abducted Friday night, according to the Kwara South Development Forum.
In a separate attack, gunmen invaded Igbesi, a community in Oke-Onigbin, Isin Local Council Area, at about 11 p.m. Saturday and abducted the King of Igbesi, Oba Moses Iwedunmoye I.
Kwara State Commissioner of Police Ojo Adekimi confirmed the monarch’s abduction. A palace source said the traditional ruler was taken alongside other residents, although Adekimi said the monarch was the only person abducted.
Security Forces Pull Captives to Safety
As attacks continued across northern Nigeria, security forces were also scoring a string of successes against kidnapping networks, rescuing dozens of captives.
In Northwestern Kaduna State, armed men intercepted commercial buses near Folwaya village in Birnin Gwari on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at about 5:30 p.m., and forced 75 passengers into a forest.
Acting on information from the local National Union of Road Transport Workers, a tactical crack team from the Birnin Gwari Area Command was immediately sent to the location.
The abductors fled into the bush upon seeing the heavily armed police operatives, leaving all 75 captives behind safely without any injuries.
The kidnappers had hidden the victims inside a cave in a mountainous forest area before police intervened. All 75 captives were rescued unharmed.
In Katsina State, troops from Operation FANSAN YAMMA rescued 14 people (six males and eight females) from Madaci Forest in Sabuwa County on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
The operation began after troops received intelligence that terrorists were moving through the area with kidnapped victims.
Soldiers engaged the gunmen in a firefight, forcing them to abandon the captives and flee into the bush.
Preliminary investigations showed they had been abducted from different locations in the Dandume, Bakori and Funtua areas of the Northwestern State.
In Northcentral Benue State, police rescued 13 passengers abducted five days earlier while traveling from Enugu to Abuja.
The victims were seized Friday, Aug. 14, and found in Amla-Cho Forest on Friday, Aug. 20.
Police said officers exchanged gunfire with the kidnappers, killing one suspect and recovering an AK-47 rifle and ammunition.
Elsewhere in the Northcentral region, Operation SAFE HAVEN troops rescued seven kidnap victims during a night patrol in Patigi County, Kwara State, at about 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18.
In Northeastern Taraba State, troops from Sector 3 rescued 18 kidnapped victims during a night operation in Ibi County after receiving reports of kidnapping around Kwatan Bajji community at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
And in Kukawa, Borno State, troops rescued four civilians — two women and two boys — who said Boko Haram or ISWAP fighters had held them captive for about three years.
Military sources said the victims were abducted in Mafa and taken to a terrorist camp known as Dogon Chuku.
Boko Haram and ISWAP Turn Their Guns on Each Other
In Borno’s Sambisa Forest, some of Nigeria’s most dangerous militants were no longer hunting soldiers or civilians. They were hunting each other
Rival factions of Boko Haram — Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, or JAS, and Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP — clashed around the Zarmari, Bula Daloye and Chirchor enclaves, according to security analyst Zagazola Makama.
More than 30 JAS members were reportedly caught up in the fighting. Several were killed, while others fled into the surrounding bush.
And when rival terrorist factions fight, civilians living inside or near their enclaves can become casualties or collateral victims.
That appears to have happened in Mafa.
Ten women associated with suspected terrorists and 24 children surrendered to Nigerian troops on Wednesday, Aug. 19, after fleeing a terrorist enclave amid heavy infighting and violent clashes between rival terrorist factions in the Dukumba enclave. The children were between one and 13 years old.
Military Strikes Claim Nearly 40 Terrorist Kills
By Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21 and 22, Nigeria’s counterinsurgency campaign was producing some of its most dramatic battlefield claims of the week.
Military sources said an initial strike near Aduwa killed about 16 suspected terrorists. A second strike hit about 10 fighters who had fled and regrouped nearby.
Another strike around Buratai reportedly killed 12 more. The military put the combined toll at about 38 suspected terrorists.
It also reported the death of a senior ISWAP commander known as WAL-GEGE near Dikwa.
According to intelligence cited by Zagazola Makama, the commander was riding a motorcycle near the group’s Gargash hideout when the strike hit.
His death reportedly triggered concern within ISWAP that someone had leaked information about his movements.
Another airstrike on Tuesday, Aug. 18, reportedly killed eight ISWAP fighters in the Timbuktu Triangle after they were detected preparing to attack Nigerian troops.
Ezinwanne Onwuka is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
