By Amarachi Jim-Nwoko
BORNO (PRECISE POST) – The Borno State Government has dismissed allegations that ransom was paid to secure the release of 360 persons recently rescued from terrorists’ captivity in the Mandara Mountains, a known hideout in the southern part of the state.
The clarification was given by the Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, who insisted that the operation was purely a military-led, intelligence-driven mission.
The rescued individuals were freed during a coordinated operation carried out by troops of Operation Hadin Kai, which targeted an enclave linked to Boko Haram, particularly the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction.
Military authorities explained that the mission involved Special Forces and troops from Sector 1, supported by weeks of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and detailed operational planning. The victims men, women, and children were reportedly held under harsh conditions after being abducted from several communities, especially around the Ngoshe axis.
Rejecting claims of ransom payment, Tar challenged those making the allegations to provide evidence, maintaining that the rescue was achieved solely through coordinated security operations with support from intelligence services.
“Who paid the ransom? And the ransom was paid to who? Where is the evidence?” he said. “There was no ransom payment. It was a daring military operation backed by intelligence that led to the rescue of the 360 citizens.”
He further argued that the Boko Haram insurgency has evolved from its original ideological roots into what he described as a criminal enterprise driven by kidnapping and extortion.
“The insurgency started from ideological beginnings,” he said, “but over time it has turned into a criminal business.”
The commissioner reiterated that the state government considers the armed groups as criminal elements bent on terrorising communities, assuring that security operations would continue to sustain pressure until peace is restored.
