• Insurgents displaced over 70 branches, church cries out
The military has intensified its counter-terrorism campaign in Borno State, with the air component of Operation Hadin Kai carrying out precision strikes on suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Sambisa Forest.
 
Security sources said an air interdiction mission was launched following credible intelligence indicating renewed terrorist activity deep within the forest enclave.
 
“The targets were carefully identified before engagement,” one source said, adding: “Air assets struck key locations linked to ISWAP elements, effectively disrupting their operations in that axis.”
 
According to sources, the strikes form part of a broader, sustained aerial offensive designed to degrade insurgent capabilities while providing critical support to ground forces involved in ongoing clearance operations.
 
“The objective is to deny the terrorists freedom of movement and dismantle their operational bases,” another source added, noting: “These coordinated efforts between air and ground troops are yielding measurable results.”
 
Military surveillance platforms are said to remain active over the Sambisa corridor and surrounding areas, tracking movements and assessing the impact of the strikes.
 
Sambisa Forest has long served as a stronghold for insurgent groups operating in the North-East, making it a focal point of military operations aimed at restoring security in the region.

Also, the Church of Brethren in Nigeria, identified in Hausa as Ekklesiyar ‘Yan’Uwa A Nigeria (EYN), has said it is the denomination worst hit by Boko Haram attacks.
 
This is the first time the Northeast-based group would be proclaiming its vulnerability to violence instigated mainly by insurgents or terrorist groups.
 
The EYN with headquarters in Adamawa State, has most of its branches in the North-East, particularly in Adamawa and neighbouring southern Borno, the epicentre of persisting Boko Haram insurgency.
 
Its President, Rev. Daniel Mbaya, presenting his speech during a session of the ongoing General Church Council meeting of the EYN in Kwarhi, disclosed that figures of church branches recorded last year and the year before showed worsening losses for the ministry.
 
“At the end of 2025, we had 70 local church councils (branch churches) displaced,” he said, adding: “The number had increased from below 40 as at 2024.”
 
He expressed worry that Nigerians do not know much about the violent activities of Boko Haram and are therefore not aware that insurgency remains a huge challenge.
 
The EYN General Church Council, otherwise called Majalisa 2026, is a week-long schedule of activities that ended today, attended by pastors of the church across the country as well as some high-profile guests from within and outside the country.
 
The Archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) and a special guest, Most Rev. Panti Musa, expressed sympathy for the EYN for having to pay so much of the supreme price for operating many churches around insurgency-troubled communities, especially around southern Borno State.