A senior Nigerian Army officer, Brigadier General M. Uba, has reportedly been killed by fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) after being intercepted and abducted along the Damboa–Biu axis in Borno State, multiple security sources and media reports said on Sunday.
Sources told PRNigeria and SaharaReporters that the commander was seized shortly after leading a joint air–ground operation against insurgents in the area. According to those accounts, the general had communicated with superiors after the raid, indicating he was regrouping with his team, but that transmission may have exposed his precise location to adversaries.
The sources said ISWAP fighters intercepted the general’s location, captured him alive, interrogated him and then executed him. The reports indicate that two soldiers and two members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) were also killed during the ambush, and several others were abducted before air support was mobilised.
The incident followed an operation in which ground troops advancing into the area encountered booby-trapped roads and a sudden ambush by a superior number of insurgents. Facing heavy fire, the brigade commander ordered a tactical withdrawal and issued a distress call for close air support. Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft later intervened, according to those sources, striking insurgent positions and helping to recover some of the ground force personnel and CJTF members.
SaharaReporters said the Theatre Commander of Operation HADIN KAI, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, and other top army commanders moved to Damboa to coordinate rescue efforts and bolster troop morale. Military sources quoted by the publication said troops were dispatched to the location after the general sent a live location to colleagues, but search teams reportedly returned without finding him.
Military insiders described efforts by troops to trace the signal. One source said the general appeared to have access to his phone under duress, and that he had even made a constrained video call to a civilian contact. Despite subsequent deployments to the reported site, the rescuers were unable to recover him; one soldier who had been shot and abducted was later freed, the sources said.
An earlier Army statement reportedly denied that the 25 Brigade commander had been abducted, but field officers speaking with the media said the commander had not returned to base. In the wake of the confusion, the Army has named Brigadier General Mustapha to act as commander of the 26 Task Force Brigade in Damboa while operations continue and Army Headquarters seeks to confirm details.
Security officials emphasised that the situation remains fluid. Multiple sources cautioned that investigations and verification are ongoing and that final confirmation, including an official statement from Army Headquarters, was still pending at the time of reporting.
The attack is the latest in a string of deadly strikes by ISWAP and other insurgent groups that have continued to challenge military operations in parts of northeastern Nigeria. Local commanders and federal forces have in recent weeks increased joint air–ground activities to push back militants, but such operations have at times exposed troops to ambushes and improvised explosive devices.
The Nigerian Army and the Air Force have been contacted for comment. Further updates are expected as military authorities conclude their inquiries and release formal findings.
