Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have destroyed three major terrorist detention facilities in the Timbuktu Triangle, leading to the escape of dozens of captives held by ISWAP insurgents.
After a sustained two-week offensive under Operation Desert Sanity V, troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) uncovered and destroyed three major terrorist detention facilities hidden within the Timbuktu Triangle forest spanning parts of Borno and Yobe states. The facilities, according to the military, were strategically significant to the operations of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists.
Spokesperson for OPHK, Lt.-Col. Sani Uba, said in a statement that preliminary assessments showed the facilities had the capacity to hold up to 300 detainees, underscoring their role in the terrorists’ operational and coercive framework. He added that the sustained offensive directly resulted in the escape of more than 70 captives previously held by the insurgents.
Uba said the development was confirmed by several of the escapees who later resurfaced in communities including Goniri, Buratai and Mandaragirau. He said, “This was corroborated by many of the escaped captives who later resurfaced in several villages like Goniri, Buratai and Mandaragirau, among others. One of the escapees, Malam Jidda Ba Jidda, a native of Kufi village near Buratai in Biu LGA who was abducted on 22 December 2025, disclosed that he escaped during the gun duel between the terrorists and advancing troops in the Timbuktu Triangle.”