The Department of State Services (DSS), in collaboration with forest guards, has successfully rescued seven individuals abducted by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in a forest enclave in Borno State, following a heavy gun battle.
Sources revealed on Wednesday that the victims were seized on January 19 while they had ventured into the bush near Ajiri Camp, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, to collect firewood. The terrorists intercepted them during the scavenging activity and led them into the forest.
“Two of the victims managed to escape and returned to Ajiri Camp to alert the local community. The abductors also dispatched one of the boys on a bicycle to raise a ransom of N20 million from his family,” the source disclosed.
Upon receiving the information, forest guards working alongside the DSS swiftly mobilized and launched an operation on the terrorists’ enclave. The operatives turned off their motorcycles and trekked silently for nearly an hour to avoid detection before engaging the terrorists in a fierce gun battle. The confrontation forced the ISWAP elements to abandon their captives and flee.
The victims were rescued unharmed and are currently undergoing support and profiling by relevant authorities.
Commander of the Forest Guards, Hassan Modu, who led the operation, attributed the success to timely intelligence and coordinated joint action. “We moved quietly on foot and engaged the terrorists. They fled once they realised we had closed in on their enclave,” Modu said.
He commended the DSS for its support and urged community members to continue providing credible information to security agencies to help combat criminal activities in the state.
The forest guards are trained, equipped, and continuously supervised by the DSS as an auxiliary community-based security outfit. The DSS equips them with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance skills, conducts regular drills on tracking and bush operations, and embeds officers to oversee their activities. This structure ensures that the forest guards operate under the strategic control of the DSS, maintaining professionalism, discipline, and effective coordination during joint operations against terrorists and other criminal elements.
