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Suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked a Nigerian Army artillery position and a displaced persons camp in Ngoshe, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, in the early hours of Wednesday, killing an unconfirmed number of soldiers and civilians, abducting women, and burning down structures before Nigerian Air Force precision strikes killed more than 50 insurgents on their withdrawal routes, with official and community accounts presenting sharply different assessments of how the ground engagement unfolded.
Security sources told counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama that the insurgents launched a coordinated assault on artillery positions in Ngoshe at approximately 7:30 p.m. on March 3, with the community located approximately 12 kilometres from Pulka and 31 kilometres from Gwoza town. A separate military source told Sahara Reporters that the attack continued into the following morning.
“The terrorists overran a military base, 82 Division Task Force Battalion under 26 Brigade, around 4:00 a.m., with their large numbers, burnt the camp with all the military equipment, and later advanced toward an IDP camp close to the military base and attacked the IDP,” the source said.
“The terrorists also burnt all the buildings in the IDP camp. They then went to the community and started searching all the houses to check if there were soldiers hiding within the civilians’ houses.”
The Air Force’s official account described a different outcome for the ground engagement. An officer said troops mounted a strong resistance but carried out a tactical withdrawal under heavy fire to safeguard personnel and equipment while reinforcements were mobilised.
“The insurgents tried to seize the artillery positions through a surprise assault. Troops on the ground responded effectively but carried out a tactical withdrawal under intense fire while reinforcements were being mobilised,” the officer said. The gap between the two accounts, one describing the base as overrun and burned, the other describing a tactical withdrawal, could not be independently reconciled by Thursday morning.
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Borno State Police Command spokesperson ASP Nahum Daso confirmed the attack in an interview with The Punch, stating that suspected terrorist groups attacked the military base in Gwoza around 1:00 a.m. on March 4.
“An unknown number of civilians yet to be ascertained were also affected and killed. Some are still missing and probably some were abducted and taken towards the Mandara Mountains,” Daso said. He said the community was calm by Thursday and that the military had taken charge of the area. On reports that Ngoshe’s chief imam was killed in the attack, Daso said: “If the Chief Imam is currently missing, we will verify and get back to you.”
Community sources who spoke to The Punch on condition of anonymity said nine soldiers were killed, that the insurgents arrived in large numbers using motorcycles and gun trucks, and that the scale of the assault enabled them to overpower the garrison and move into civilian areas.
“They attacked the base in large numbers. That gave them the advantage to overpower the soldiers stationed there and also made it easier for them to infiltrate the community and abduct many women,” one source said. Another added: “When they entered Ngoshe town, they first attacked the military base there and killed nine soldiers. They killed and abducted mostly women.” The nine-soldier figure was not confirmed by the Nigerian Army or the police command.
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The insurgents set fire to substantial parts of the town before withdrawing. Many residents fled Ngoshe and took shelter in Pulka town, approximately 12 kilometres away, fearing follow-on attacks. A military source said that as more troops arrived to secure the area, additional bodies of both soldiers and civilians continued to be found.
“Up till now, we don’t have the actual numbers of soldiers and civilians killed, as more bodies are being found,” the source said.
The Nigerian Air Force response was swift and, by its own account, decisive. Upon receipt of real-time intelligence from ground troops, surveillance aircraft were scrambled to engage the terrorists on their withdrawal routes. Precision airstrikes neutralised more than 50 suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters as they retreated along designated egress paths in the Ngoshe–Gwoza axis. Operation Hadin Kai, the joint military campaign coordinating counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, said in a statement that any attempt to attack Nigerian military positions would be met with “overwhelming and coordinated firepower.”
The Ngoshe–Gwoza axis has historically remained volatile due to intermittent activities by Boko Haram and ISWAP remnants who exploit difficult terrain and proximity to cross-border forest zones near the Mandara Mountains, which straddle the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Gwoza was among the communities seized by Boko Haram in 2014 during the group’s territorial peak and was recaptured by the Nigerian Army in 2015. It has been subject to recurring insurgent attacks in subsequent years, with the area’s mountainous terrain providing persistent cover for regrouping.
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum warned as recently as April 2025 that Boko Haram had escalated attacks across the state, compromising military formations in multiple locations, and that residents faced near-daily kidnappings and attacks. Zulum also noted that the group had integrated drone use for surveillance and offensive operations.
The spokesman for Operation Hadin Kai, Lieutenant Colonel Sanni Uba, did not respond to calls seeking comment. The total casualty figures among both civilians and security forces remained unconfirmed as of Thursday afternoon. Residents of Ngoshe and surrounding communities appealed for urgent deployment of additional security assets to the area to prevent further attacks.
