By Kamsi Anayo
The Nigerian Army has rescued 360 hostages from a heavily fortified Boko Haram hideout in the Mandara Mountains of southern Borno State, in what it described as one of its most significant recovery operations in the country’s north-east in recent years.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Army said the operation was conducted by troops of the Joint Task Force (North East) under Operation HADIN KAI, with the deployment of special forces alongside personnel from Sector 1.
The mission, it said, followed weeks of coordinated intelligence gathering, covert reconnaissance and operational planning aimed at locating and safely extracting abducted civilians.
It stressed that those rescued included men, women and children who had been held in captivity under harsh and restrictive conditions after being abducted from several communities across southern Borno State, particularly in areas around the Ngoshe axis.
The Army did not immediately provide details on the condition of the victims following their release, but said they were being processed and secured by troops after the operation.
The target of the raid was identified as a fortified enclave belonging to Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), a faction of Boko Haram.
The group, which has been active in the region for over a decade, has been responsible for mass abductions, village raids and attacks on military and civilian targets across north-eastern Nigeria and neighbouring areas.
The Mandara Mountains, where the enclave was located, form a rugged and difficult-to-access terrain along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.
The area has long been considered a strategic hideout for insurgent groups due to its natural fortifications, cave systems and limited road access, which have historically complicated military operations.
