The terrorists reportedly moved through the Ngoshe Mountains towards Gazuwa and Ngom, infiltrating several communities in Borno State ahead of the planned attacks.
Troops of Nigerian Army under Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have reportedly arrested two suspected suicide bombers linked to the bombing of mosque in Borno State, and disrupted logistics networks sustaining Boko Haram terror activities in Borno and Yobe states.
One of the suspects was arrested in Banki town during joint operations and intelligence-led patrols by troops deployed under the Joint Task Force North East (JTF NE), while the second was earlier arrested in Damaturu, Yobe State, in connection with the December 24 suicide bomb attack at the Gamboru Market Mosque in Maiduguri, according to a counterinsurgency expert, Zagazola Makama.
It was reported that the attack was part of coordinated plans by Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), Ansaru and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) elements to execute suicide bombings and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks across parts of the North-East zone.
It was gathered that a Boko Haram team, allegedly led by a notorious IED expert, Munzir Abu Ziyadah, prepared up to 10 person-borne improvised explosive device (PBIED) attacks from the Ali Ngulde camp axis.
The terrorists reportedly moved through the Ngoshe Mountains towards Gazuwa and Ngom, infiltrating several communities in Borno State ahead of the planned attacks.
One of the terrorists successfully detonated his explosive at the Gamboru Market Mosque on December 24, killing five worshippers and injuring 32 others.
Following the Maiduguri bomb blast, the Theatre Commander, Joint Task Force North East Operation HADIN KAI, Maj. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, directed a shift from routine presence to hunter-killer and pre-emptive interdiction operations across the theatre.
The Theatre Commander ordered an immediate reconfiguration of forces, with emphasis on intelligence-led operations, layered security around places of worship and markets, and tighter control of movement corridors within Maiduguri and adjoining frontline communities.
At about 5:40 p.m. on December 29, troops deployed at the Banki Central Mosque intercepted a suspected suicide bomber in possession of primed IED materials, according to Makama.
Sources said further investigation revealed additional incriminating IED materials in the suspect’s possession, adding that he is currently undergoing detailed interrogation.
Meanwhile, investigations into the December 24 suicide bombing at the Gamboru Market Mosque have reportedly recorded fresh breakthroughs with the arrest and repatriation of another suspected suicide bomber in Yobe State.
The suspect, identified as Ibrahim, was reportedly arrested in Damaturu by a hunters’ group working in collaboration with Operation Hadin Kai and was brought back to Maiduguri on December 29 for further interrogation.
A source said Ibrahim was taken to the Izala Mosque in the Tashan Joni area of Maiduguri, where he identified a spot, he claimed to have dropped a bag containing an IED after he could not get close enough to detonate it.
“However, the bag was not found at the indicated location,” the source was quoted as saying.
Further interrogation reportedly led the suspect to confess that he planted another bomb in a bag at the entrance of the Gamboru Market Mosque on December 24, while his accomplice, identified as Adamu, now deceased, entered the mosque wearing a suicide vest which was detonated inside the mosque.
The suspect also disclosed that six suicide bombers were deployed to Maiduguri ahead of the attack under the coordination of a terror kingpin.
He reportedly named three of the bombers, Salisu, Yusuf and Adamu, as residents of Maiduguri, while the remaining three, another Adamu, Yusuf and Abdullahi, allegedly came from Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
In a related operation, troops deployed at the Cameroon–Nigeria border gate reportedly intercepted a Peugeot vehicle conveying six bags of urea fertilizer, identified as a key component in the manufacture of IEDs.
According to sources, the driver and the consignment were taken into custody, while follow-up operations led to the arrest of the fertilizer dealer and the recovery of an additional six bags of urea fertilizer.