Troops  arrest teenage ISWAP logistics courier in ngamdu, link suspect to Jilli strikes

By: Zagazola Makama 

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have arrested a 15-year-old suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) logistics courier in Ngamdu, Borno, linking him to recent terrorist attacks and ongoing military airstrikes on insurgent enclaves in the Jilli axis.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspect, identified as Tijjani, was apprehended on Sunday while allegedly attempting to procure logistics for insurgent fighters operating within the Ngamdu–Benisheik corridor.

According to the sources, the suspect confessed during preliminary interrogation that he participated in the attacks on Benisheik and Ngamdu carried out on Thursday.

“My name is Tijjani, I am 15 years old. I was arrested today in Ngamdu. I was among the terrorists that attacked Benisheik and Ngamdu,” the source quoted him as saying.

He reportedly disclosed that the group mobilised from Jilli, a known insurgent stronghold in Gubio Local Government Area, before executing the attacks and subsequently returned to the enclave.

“Before the attack we came from Jilli and returned there after the attack,” he said.

The suspect further revealed that he was redeployed from Jilli on Saturday with the sum of N850,000 to procure supplies for other fighters.

“I was sent from Jilli yesterday with N850,000 to collect some logistics from Ngamdu, but I was arrested by troops,” he reportedly stated.

He added that he left behind other fighters at the Jilli enclave but could not confirm their fate following the recent military airstrikes on the area.

“I left my colleagues at Jilli yesterday. I don’t know what has happened to them there,” he said.

Military sources said the arrest of the suspect provides further insight into the operational and logistics network of ISWAP within the region, particularly the central role of Jilli as a staging ground and supply hub.

The development comes barely 24 hours after the Air Component of OPHK conducted precision airstrikes on the Jilli axis, destroying a major terrorist logistics base and neutralising scores of insurgents.

The strikes, which followed sustained Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, targeted a convergence of motorcycles and vehicles identified as belonging to insurgents and their logistics handlers.

Field reports indicated that at least two motorcycles and one vehicle were destroyed, while several terrorists were killed in the operation.

Some insurgents were said to have taken cover upon hearing the approaching aircraft but later returned in the evening to evacuate casualties.

Military authorities have consistently described Jilli as a “no man’s land” under insurgent control, where activities such as the so-called weekly market serve as logistics and coordination points for terrorist operations.

The arrest of the teenage suspect, who admitted to moving funds and facilitating supplies, underscores the reliance of insurgent groups on logistics couriers, including minors, to sustain their operations.

Security experts say disrupting such supply chains is critical to weakening the operational capacity of insurgent groups in the North-East.

The military has reiterated its commitment to sustaining pressure on terrorist enclaves through coordinated air and ground operations, aimed at dismantling logistics networks and preventing further attacks on both security forces and civilian communities.

Investigations into the suspect’s activities and possible accomplices are ongoing.