Army Rescue of 360 Hostages Disputed by Borno Youth Alliance; Most Returnees Not Ngoshe Natives: Physician; Hundreds of Ngoshe Captives Still Hostages?
By Luka Binniyat and Suleman Ayuba
(MAIDUGURI, Nigeria) – After months of torture in sweltering dust, 360 captives of Boko Haram terrorists were set free Saturday, June 6, but how and why is disputed. Four infants died from exposure after more than 60 days, and scores of captives reportedly escaped, but most of the Ngoshe hostages are still held somewhere in the Mandara mountains, TruthNigeria can exclusively report.
The Borno South Youth Alliance (BOSYA)—which has gained noticeable media attention recently—refuted claims that the hostages were rescued through a military operation.
BOSYA claimed that its intervention led to the release of the captives on Saturday, June 6.
The political group’s president, Samaila Ibrahim Kaigama, repudiated the military’s fulsome claims and offered a contrary account of how hostages were recovered on his facebook page.
Kaigama, a candidate for Nigeria’s Senate, said in a video that he was the one who “processed, fought for and finalised” the release of the “360 women and children.”
“I am grateful to the parties involved, especially to the other side (Boko Haram) that listened to our cries, heard my voice and, in fact, reasoned with what I have been saying,” he said.
He did not identify the other party.
“In fact, there was a time they wanted to behead some of these captives in order to prove a point about how serious they were, so that the government could pay their ransom on time, but my intervention stalled that action,” claimed Kaigama, who is currently contesting for a Borno South Senatorial seat.
Speaking further, he said, “There are news reports flying all over that there was a rescue mission.”
“There was no rescue mission!” he insisted.
In an exclusive chat with TruthNigeria, Kaigama conceded that the number of returnees was actually 360, not 416 as he had earlier stated.
“The original number was 416,” he said, “but some managed to escape and some died.”
“Four infants were buried there,” he added.
Asked whether a ransom was paid, he responded: “I don’t want to say anything about that,” before ending the conversation.
Meanwhile, further controversy has emerged over the identity of some of the returnees.
Most Returnness Are Not From Ngoshe
Professor Audu Idriss of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, a native of Ngoshe and son of the former Village Head of Ngoshe, said many of those released were not from the community.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Maiduguri, Idriss said: “My findings are that most of those brought to Ngoshe are not our people. Most of them are from somewhere else. We still have many Ngoshe residents with them (Boko Haram). I don’t know what arrangement was made, but we still await the return of most of the kidnapped Ngoshe women and children.”
Women in Hijab Are Forcefully Converted Christians
Similarly, a Christian cleric in Pulka, about 13 miles south of Ngoshe, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said that although many of the returned women appeared to be Muslims, they were originally Christian women who had been forcibly converted while in captivity.
“Most of those women you see wearing the Muslim hijab were Christians who were forced to convert to Islam or were made sex slaves, or sold to other terrorist groups as slaves,” he said.
The return, Sunday, of 360 hostages kidnapped from Ngoshe, Gwoza County, Borno State, on March 4, 2026, has sparked controversy over whether they were rescued through a military operation or released by terrorists following negotiations, TruthNigeria has learned..
There are also counterclaims that many of those who returned were not members of the Ngoshe community, and that a large number of residents of the predominantly Christian town remain in the custody of Boko Haram terrorists.
Boko Haram Launched Attack March 4
As widely reported in the media, Vanguard stated that on March 4, 2026, Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists launched a devastating attack on Ngoshe in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, killing scores of civilians and soldiers, abducting hundreds—mostly women and children—and burning homes and shops. The assault displaced thousands, prompting military counterattacks and emergency humanitarian interventions.
On Sunday, June 7, 2026, however, the Nigerian Army Headquarters announced that it had secured the release of 360 hostages through a major military operation.
Army Says Hostages Rescued
The Headquarters Joint Task Force (North East) Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) announced the rescue of 360 abductees from a Boko Haram enclave hidden deep within the Mandara Mountains of southern Borno State, describing the mission as one of the most significant hostage rescue operations conducted in the North-East in recent years.
According to a statement signed by Lieutenant Colonel Haruna M. Sani, Acting Media Information Officer of OPHK, the operation followed weeks of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and covert reconnaissance. The military said it received “credible and corroborated intelligence” that revealed the exact location of the hostages, many of whom had been abducted from communities around the Ngoshe axis.
The statement explained that military intelligence combined Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and aerial surveillance to map insurgent positions and identify weaknesses within their network. A major breakthrough reportedly came when intelligence operatives successfully penetrated the terrorist network, obtaining detailed information about the captives, insurgent commanders, and security arrangements within the enclave.
Acting on the intelligence, Special Forces and Sector 1 troops launched a “meticulously coordinated multi-axis operation” under the cover of darkness. Supported by real-time surveillance feeds, troops surrounded the area, blocked escape routes, and achieved what the military described as “complete tactical surprise.” The insurgents were overwhelmed, with some fleeing and others surrendering.
Luka Binniyat writes for TruthNigeria from Kaduna and Suleman writes for TruthNigeria from Maiduguri.
