A stealthy, intelligence-driven operation by the Department of State Services and forest guards has ended in victory, with seven abducted persons rescued from a suspected Islamic State West Africa Province enclave in Borno State after a fierce gun battle in the bush.
Security sources said the victims were seized on January 19 while fetching firewood near Ajiri Camp, on the outskirts of Maiduguri. The group was reportedly intercepted during the routine outing and taken into the forest by the terrorists.
In a dramatic twist, two of the captives escaped and raised the alarm in Ajiri Camp. The abductors, the sources added, also sent one of the boys back on a bicycle with a demand for a ₦20 million ransom.
Acting on the tip-off, forest guards working under the coordination of the DSS mobilised swiftly and closed in on the hideout.
“They cut their engines, trekked quietly for nearly an hour to avoid detection, and then struck,” a source said. “The ensuing exchange of fire forced the ISWAP elements to flee, abandoning all the captives.”
All seven victims were rescued unhurt and are currently receiving care, support, and profiling by the relevant authorities.
Commander of the Forest Guards, Hassan Modu, who coordinated the operation, said the success was the product of timely intelligence and joint action.
“We moved silently and engaged them decisively. Once they realised we had closed in, they fled their enclave,” Modu said, while commending the DSS for its support and urging residents to continue sharing credible information with security agencies.
The forest guards, a community-based auxiliary outfit, are trained, equipped, and continuously supervised by the DSS. They receive basic intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and bush-operation training, with DSS officers embedded to ensure professionalism, discipline, and effective coordination.
The rescue, security watchers say, is another clear signal that intelligence-led collaboration is tightening the noose around terrorist hideouts across Borno’s forests.
Source:@ZagazolaMakama
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