Confusion Deepens Over General Uba’s Fate After Reported Abduction By ISWAP

ByEditor

Nov 17, 2025 #Boko Haram insurgency, #Borno Attack, #Brigadier General Uba, #CJTF casualties, #Damboa Biu Road, #HumAngle report, #ISWAP abduction claim, #ISWAP ambush, #Nigerian Army

Malik Yahya/

Confusion persists over the fate of Brigadier General M. Uba following an Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) ambush on a military convoy along the Damboa–Biu road in Borno State.

While the Nigerian Army insists he is safe, credible reports continue to suggest he may still be in captivity.

The convoy, which included troops and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), came under heavy fire near Sabon Gari at the weekend.

Military authorities confirmed that two soldiers and two CJTF operatives were killed during the attack.

Initial accounts from military sources, reported by Newsmakerslive.org, indicated that Brig-Gen. Uba, commander of the 25 Task Force Brigade, had been briefly unaccounted for but later rejoined his men.

However, HumAngle, which first reported that the senior officer had been abducted during the ambush, maintained on Monday that he remains in ISWAP custody.

In a post on X, HumAngle stated, “HumAngle can now confirm that the Brigade General M. Uba was, as we reported on Saturday, abducted by members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). We stand by this reporting and have found photo evidence that he remains in ISWAP captivity.”

“A verified image HumAngle has seen shows General M.Uba in the custody of ISWAP insurgents, with a gunshot wound to the leg. Verification was carried out through detailed frame analysis, geolocation cross-checking, and confirmation from independent security sources familiar with the region and the incident,” the platform wrote in another post.

A photograph circulating online, appearing to show Uba seated with his hands positioned as though restrained, has fuelled further speculation.

The Nigerian Army has strongly denied the abduction narrative, describing it as false and insisting that the commander successfully returned to base after repelling the attackers.

Nonetheless, the circulation of purported photographic evidence and HumAngle’s insistence on its reporting have sustained doubts and raised questions about whether the full circumstances of the ambush have been accurately presented.

The Damboa–Biu corridor has long been vulnerable to insurgent attacks by ISWAP, a breakaway faction of Boko Haram known for targeting military personnel, aid workers and local vigilante units.

The group has previously used ambushes on isolated roads as a tactic to undermine troop movement and morale.

As conflicting accounts continue to circulate, independent verification of Brig-Gen. Uba’s status has yet to emerge, leaving the situation unresolved and public concern heightened.