Ba’ana Bdiya, a “repentant Boko Haram fighter,” was reportedly detained by Nigerian Army troops as part of Operation Hadin Kai in connection with a bomb attack on Nigerian soldiers that killed at least three of them.
Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency report on the Lake Chad region, says that Ba’ana Bdiya, also known as “Manci,” gave terrorists information about where the troops were moving on March 16, 2023, the day of the ambush attack.
The publication said that the information Manci shared led to an ambush of soldiers who were attacked with an improvised explosive device (IED) on the outskirts of Banki town in Borno State. At least three soldiers were killed and four others were injured in the attack, according to the report.
The distribution was cited as expressing that “Ba’ana was among the a large number of Boko Haram who set out their arms and were acknowledged back by the general public subsequent to going through recovery. However, despite his decision not to join the terrorist organization, he kept in close touch with his former coworkers.
Zagazola Makama was also told by military sources that Manci had given similar information to Boko Haram fighters in February, who had successfully ambushed troops during fighting patrols at Ngauri.
The insight was said to have prompted the killing of certain troopers.
“This is less than one week after two other ex-militants, Goni Farouq and Amir Zabu, (The Executor), who were top former Commanders of Boko Haram, were intercepted in a phone conversation planning attacks against troops,” military sources were quoted as saying.
“The nefarious activities of the local network of informants are the real obstacle standing between the troops and the total and final obliteration of Boko Hama terrorists.
Without proper deradicalization, “there are concerns that the continued release of repentant terrorists into society could subvert the progress made so far in the war against insurgency.”