Troops of Sector 2 of the North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, have foiled what the military described as a Boko Haram extortion mission and killed a suspected terrorist driver during an operation along the Paya-Kafiya axis of Yobe State.
The military said troops also recovered ammunition, a loaded AK-47 magazine and other items during the operation carried out on 19 July.
The Acting Media Information Officer of Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Mohammed Goni, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
According to Goni, the operation disrupted an alleged plot by Boko Haram/ISWAP members to collect illegal levies from residents of Bukarti village, denying the insurgents access to a source of funding.
He said troops acted on credible intelligence indicating that suspected terrorists were travelling in two Volkswagen Golf vehicles and on motorcycles to carry out the operation.
“Troops of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bukarti, in conjunction with the 27 Task Force Brigade, swiftly deployed an aggressive fighting patrol to the Paya-Kafiya axis on 19 July 2026,” Goni said.
He added that the troops engaged the suspects in a gun battle, immobilising one of the vehicles and killing its driver. The remaining suspects reportedly abandoned the vehicle and fled into the surrounding bush with gunshot wounds.
Goni said follow-up operations conducted on 20 July along the Paya-Kafiya-Garin Gada axis led to the recovery of the abandoned Volkswagen Golf vehicle, 25 rounds of belted PKT ammunition, one loaded AK-47 magazine, 15 spent PKT ammunition cases, assorted drugs, including paracetamol and nicotine products, as well as mechanical tools believed to have been used to support the group’s logistics.
He said the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of intelligence-led military operations and reflected Operation Hadin Kai’s continued efforts to disrupt terrorist logistics, dismantle illicit funding networks and restrict insurgents’ freedom of movement across the North-East.
