Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have disrupted a suspected terrorist gathering and arrested five suspected arms smugglers during separate operations in Yobe State.

 

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, Media Information Officer Headquarters Joint Task Force (North East ) Operation HADIN KAI, disclosed this in a statement on 19 February, 2026.

 

 

 

According to the statement, at about 6:21 p.m. on Feb 17, troops conducted a fire mission following credible intelligence that terrorists were converging in large numbers on motorcycles at Mangari, about 10.6 kilometres from the location of the 135 Special Forces Battalion in Buratai.

 

 

 

The swift action forced the insurgents to disperse in disarray, effectively disrupting their suspected plans.

 

 

 

In a separate development, troops of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Potiskum apprehended five suspected arms smugglers and abductors at about 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 18 at a checkpoint along the Gombe–Potiskum road.

 

 

 

Those arrested included a 41-year-old suspect, Baba Abare, who was found in possession of an AK-47 rifle, alongside four others identified as Idris Zakari, 33; Nasiru Aliyu, 25; Abdullahi Sulaiman, 35; and Mohammed Idris, 34, all said to be indigenes of Potiskum town.

 

 

 

The suspects were intercepted in two Golf Wagon vehicles bearing registration numbers Borno NGL-506XA and Kaduna DKD16-01.

 

 

 

They were disarmed and handed over to appropriate authorities for further investigation.