“From Jilli To Ngamdu” — Military Captures Teenage ISWAP Courier, Links Him To Attacks On Benisheik Corridor And Senior Officer Killing

Security forces under Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have arrested a 15-year-old suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) logistics courier in Ngamdu, Borno State, in connection with a series of deadly insurgent operations, including attacks that led to the death of a senior military commander and three soldiers.

The suspect, identified as Tijjani, was apprehended on Sunday while allegedly attempting to procure logistics supplies for insurgent fighters operating along the Ngamdu–Benisheik corridor. Security analyst Zagazola Makama, who first reported the incident, said the teenager was intercepted with ₦850,000 allegedly sent from Jilli, a known insurgent stronghold in Gubio Local Government Area.

In a chilling confession, the suspect admitted his role in the network:

“My name is Tijjani. I am 15 years old. I was arrested today in Ngamdu. I was among the terrorists that attacked Benisheik and Ngamdu. Before the attack, we came from Jilli and returned there after the attack. I was sent from Jilli yesterday with ₦850,000 to collect some logistics from Ngamdu, but I was arrested by troops.”

The arrest comes days after a deadly attack on a military formation, during which Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, Commander of the 29 Task Force Brigade under Operation Hadin Kai, was killed alongside three other soldiers. The slain general was among the highest-ranking officers lost in recent counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.

It also follows precision airstrikes conducted by the Air Component of OPHK on the Jilli axis, 24 hours before the suspect was captured. The strikes, based on sustained Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, targeted insurgent movement corridors and destroyed at least two motorcycles and a vehicle, with several fighters reportedly neutralised.

Tijjani further told interrogators that he was unaware of the fate of other fighters who remained in Jilli following the airstrikes. Military sources described Jilli as a heavily fortified insurgent enclave operating a clandestine weekly market used for logistics coordination and supply distribution.

Security officials say the arrest underscores a growing ISWAP tactic of exploiting minors as logistics couriers to move money and supplies across volatile routes, complicating detection efforts.

Experts note that dismantling these supply and financing networks remains central to weakening insurgent operational capacity in Nigeria’s North-East theatre.

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