Troops of Operation HADIN KAI have intercepted a six-year-old girl linked to a suspected terrorist family and arrested three suspected terrorist collaborators in separate operations in Borno State.
The six-year-old girl, identified as Fatima Bulama, was intercepted by troops of 192 Battalion along the Gwoza–Limankara road at about 10:15 a.m. on August 8, 2026.
According to a military source, the troops were conducting picketing and farm patrol duties along the route when they found the child.
Preliminary investigation indicated that Fatima’s parents had brought her from a terrorist enclave in Kwatara, Gwoza Local Government Area, towards the vicinity of the Mandara Mountains.
The child reportedly told troops that her parents instructed her to remain on the road and approach the soldiers while claiming she was escaping from terrorists, as they stayed behind.
She was subsequently screened, documented and taken into the custody of 192 Battalion for further necessary action.
In a separate operation on the same day, troops of 162 Amphibious Battalion arrested three suspected terrorist collaborators along the Mandaragirau–Sabon Gari road in Biu Local Government Area.
The suspects, identified as 35-year-old Ali Ali from Kurufulu, 30-year-old Usman Salihu and 31-year-old Adamu Muhammad, both from Kadan Loko, were arrested at about 5:30 p.m. at a military checkpoint following credible intelligence.
Items recovered from them included ₦450,000 cash, three mobile phones, an oil bottle, torchlight, mirrors, a phone battery, three lighters, a bangle, NIN slip, face caps and local caps.
Troops also recovered cow drugs and syringes, an umbrella, blanket, three loaves of bread, ropes, bottled water and a can of malt.
During preliminary questioning, the suspects reportedly confessed to being sent by terrorists operating around the Timbuktu Triangle axis to sell a rustled cow.
The three suspects remain in military custody and are being processed for onward transfer to Abogo Largema Military Cantonment for further investigation.
The developments come as security forces intensify operations around the Mandara Mountains, Gwoza axis and other known terrorist enclaves in Borno State, targeting terrorist networks, their collaborators and logistics channels while facilitating the recovery of persons trapped in insurgent-controlled areas.
-Zagazola Makama
