Troops Disrupt Terror Supply Route, Capture 18 Suspects in Bornok

Troops Disrupt Terror Supply Route, Capture 18 Suspects in Borno

By Tada Jutha, Maiduguri

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have arrested 18 suspected logistics suppliers linked to Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State, in what security sources describe as a significant disruption of the group’s support network.

The suspects were intercepted along the strategic Maiduguri–Magumeri road while allegedly travelling towards Gubio, with plans to continue to the Gudumbali–Kujawa axis, areas long identified as strongholds of insurgent activity in northern Borno.

A credible military source disclosed in Maiduguri that the operation was carried out following intelligence reports on movements suspected of being tied to terrorist logistics channels. According to the source, the arrested individuals were on a mission to deliver supplies to fighters operating in remote communities.

“The suspects were stopped along the route while heading towards Gubio to hand over materials intended for terrorists,” the source said, adding that the axis remains a known enclave for insurgent operations.

Preliminary investigations reportedly revealed that the suspects admitted to regularly procuring and transporting goods for the insurgents. The confession, according to the military, exposed a pattern of civilian involvement in sustaining terrorist activities across parts of Guzamala and Kukawa Local Government Areas.

“They acknowledged participating in the purchase and delivery of essential items to the terrorists who are still active in those areas,” the source noted.

The suspects were also said to have cited unemployment and economic hardship as reasons for their involvement, a development the military believes underscores the deeper socio-economic drivers of insurgency in the region.

Security officials say the arrests reinforce earlier remarks by the Chief of Defence Staff on the link between economic challenges and the persistence of terrorist logistics networks in the Northeast.

“Our findings highlight the dangerous role of civilian collaborators in enabling terrorist operations, especially in isolated communities around Gubio and Gudumbali near the Niger border,” the military source added.

The Nigerian Army has reiterated the need for a balanced strategy in tackling insurgency, urging authorities to complement ongoing military operations with non-kinetic measures such as economic empowerment and job creation.

According to the military, addressing unemployment and poverty remains critical to dismantling the support systems that have sustained the insurgency for nearly two decades across the Northeast.