Boko Haram Captives — The Nigerian Army has freed 360 people from Boko Haram captivity in the rugged Mandara mountains of southern Borno State, in one of the most significant hostage rescues carried out against the militant group in recent years. The military announced the outcome on Sunday, confirming that the abductees — seized earlier in 2025 — had been evacuated to secure locations where they are receiving medical care and humanitarian support.
Two infants did not survive the ordeal. Army spokesperson Haruna Sani said the children died from exhaustion brought on by the punishing terrain and the brutal conditions of captivity in the mountainous region. Their deaths underscore the extreme hardship endured by those held by the group, which had demanded millions of Nigerian naira in ransom before the military intervened.
A local youth leader and a Borno State senator both confirmed the rescue, with the senator telling AFP on Saturday that the group actually numbered more than 400 people — suggesting the full scale of the abduction may have been larger than initially disclosed. The military’s Sunday statement placed the confirmed figure at 360.
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The operation was not a straightforward assault. Before moving against the militants, the army deployed intelligence-gathering techniques and psychological operations designed to sow mistrust within Boko Haram’s ranks. When the military did strike, fighters either fled deeper into the surrounding mountains or surrendered. The strategy reflects a growing sophistication in Nigeria’s approach to counter-insurgency in the northeast.
The rescue arrives at a moment of intensified pressure on armed groups across the region. Last month, a joint Nigerian-US military operation killed 175 fighters belonging to ISWAP — the Islamic State West Africa Province — a breakaway faction of Boko Haram that operates as an affiliate of the Islamic State. The Nigerian and US presidents jointly announced the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, identified as ISIL’s second-in-command, in a strike that signalled deepening bilateral security cooperation.
Despite these gains, the financial machinery sustaining militant activity in the region remains formidable. SBM Intelligence estimates that Boko Haram collected approximately $1.66 million in ransom payments between July 2024 and June 2025 alone — a figure that illustrates how kidnapping has become a core revenue stream for the group and a persistent threat to civilian populations.
Borno State has long been the epicentre of Nigeria’s northeastern security crisis. The state is home to a volatile mix of armed groups, bandits, and separatist factions, and it was here that Boko Haram launched its campaign of violence in 2009. In the sixteen years since, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and forcibly displaced at least two million from their homes — one of the largest displacement crises on the African continent.
Boko Haram Captives: The Broader African Context
The Mandara mountains, straddling the Nigeria-Cameroon border, have served as a recurring refuge for Boko Haram operatives seeking to evade military pressure in the flatlands below. Their remote, heavily forested ridges make pursuit difficult and provide natural cover for holding captives far from populated areas — a geography that contributed directly to the deaths of the two infants recovered during this latest operation.
The freed hostages now face the long process of physical and psychological recovery. Nigerian authorities have indicated that humanitarian support is being coordinated at the evacuation sites, though the broader challenge of reintegrating survivors into communities still scarred by years of insurgent violence remains substantial. For the families of those rescued, Sunday’s announcement brought relief — tempered by grief for the two children who did not make it out alive.
