Over 300 women, children abducted in Borno’s terrorist attack: Report

Mr Sani said troops repelled the attacks, noting that a “number of brave soldiers paid the supreme price in the line of duty,” including a senior officer.

Ambali Abdulkabeer • March 7, 2026

Terrorists (Photo Credit: ICIR Nigeria)

Over 300 residents, including women and children, were kidnapped by suspected terrorists who invaded Ngoshe town in the Gwoza Local Government of Borno State, a report by Sky News said on Friday.

A military spokesperson, Uba Sani, confirmed that separate attacks also took place in the communities of Konduga, Marte, Jakana and Mainok between Wednesday and Friday.

Mr Sani said troops repelled the attacks, noting that a “number of brave soldiers paid the supreme price in the line of duty,” including a senior officer.

Though he did not elaborate on the military resulting from the incident, Mr Sani described the onslaughts as “failed attacks,” indicating the “increasing desperation of terrorist elements under sustained operational pressure” across the theatre.

Meanwhile, a group suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists, in a video circulating online, claimed responsibility for the attacks on the military base and Ngoshe community, vowing to hold eid-l-fitri in the town’s central mosque.

A group of five young men, who introduced themselves as members of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad under the leadership of Imam Ubu Umaima in the viral video, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The leader of the gang, who spoke in Hausa, claimed they beheaded soldiers in the attack and vowed that they would change the name of the town to Daular Islam (Caliphate).

“In the name of Allah, the most beneficial, and the most merciful. We thank God Almighty for helping us to succeed in our mission in Ngoshe. And as you can see today, 16/9/1447 (Thursday 6th March, 2026) we are inside the central mosque in Ngoshe.

“People in this town are saying that we cannot conquer Ngoshe. With the help of God, we have already conquered the town and by the grace of God, we are going to stay in Ngoshe and change its name to a caliphate. And at the end of Ramadan, we will observe the Eid-el-Fitr prayer inside Ngoshe,” the group said in the video.

They added that they killed and enslaved women and children in the town, boasting to permanently extend the fight and reclaim more places from there to Maiduguri and Abuja.

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