Four members of the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, have surrendered to Nigerian troops in Borno State, providing information on the activities and structure of a terrorist enclave in Marte Local Government Area.

The development was contained in information obtained by security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama.

The four individuals, comprising two adults and two minors, reportedly told investigators that they had been abducted and forced into the terrorist group at different locations in Borno State.

They were identified as Isha Bukar, 19, from Gamboru Ngala; Abubakar Alkali, 25, from Monguno; Tijani Mele, 15, from Dikwa; and Abubakar Mohammed Mairiga, 24, from Damboa.

Bukar said he was abducted about a year ago by his elder brother, who was an ISWAP member, and taken to the Arinna Chiki terrorist camp in Marte.

Alkali said ISWAP fighters abducted him while he was working on his farm at Buluwa village in Marte, while Mele said he was abducted by his brother while fetching firewood around the Gudunbali General Area in Guzamala.

Mairiga, a fisherman from Damboa, reportedly said he was abducted by ISWAP fighters while fishing at Dowoshi in Kukawa Local Government Area.

The four later escaped from the camp and surrendered to Nigerian troops, with military sources attributing their decision partly to sustained airstrikes and psychological operations that had disrupted activities within the enclave.

According to the sources, the military pressure had worsened conditions inside the camp, leaving some members increasingly disillusioned with the group.

“Survival in such condition was nearly impossible,” one of the former members reportedly said.

According to the information provided by the former ISWAP members, Arinna Chiki in Marte is a major terrorist enclave, with the camp’s leadership, internal structure and operations also disclosed to investigators.

The camp is reportedly headed by individuals identified as Abu Salim and Abu Riana, alongside other commanders, and comprises several settlements, including Gari Ba’amfani, Mujiza, Guzuma, Sabon Tumbu, Yates Kura and Latimer.

Investigators were also told that weapons are issued to fighters before operations and returned to the leadership afterwards. The group reportedly conducts attacks in parts of Borno, including Monguno, Marte, Ngoshe and Gamboru Ngala, as well as across the border in Cameroon.

ISWAP also reportedly relies on attacks against civilians, commuters and farming activities to obtain supplies and sustain its operations.

Following their surrender, the four individuals were taken to Headquarters Sector 3 for processing and further interrogation.

The development comes amid sustained military operations involving ground offensives, airstrikes and psychological operations aimed at degrading terrorist networks in the North-East and encouraging fighters and their associates to abandon the insurgency.

Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command have killed two suspected criminals terrorizing parts of the state, recovering arms from them.

A statement by the spokesperson of the command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, stated that the incident happened in Eziowelle community, Idemili North Local Government Area.

The statement said, “In the early morning of today, 19th August 2026, operatives of the command attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu received credible information that a group of suspected armed robbers/kidnappers had been sighted along Eziowelle Road.

“The Police operatives swiftly mobilized to the area and on sighting the Police team, the hoodlums opened fire on them, leading to a gun duel.

“During the ensuing encounter, two of the suspects sustained fatal gunshot injuries, while other members of the gang fled the scene with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.

“The operatives recovered one AK-47 rifle with a magazine containing four live rounds of ammunition, one pump-action gun and five live cartridges from the scene.”

The command described the incident as a breakthrough in its ongoing intelligence-led operations against kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes across the state.

The statement added that the command, under the leadership of CP Nnanna Oji Ama, remains resolute in its determination to sustain intelligence-led and proactive operations aimed at dismantling criminal networks and ensuring the safety and security of residents.

The command said it has commenced further investigations into the matter and intensified efforts to track down the fleeing members of the gang.

The Nigeria Police Force has remitted over 11,000 recovered arms to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NCCSALW, for destruction.

The Centre’s Director-General, DIG Johnson Babatunde Kokumo (rtd), disclosed this on Wednesday.

Kokumo made the disclosure  when he paid a courtesy visit to the Niger State Commissioner of Police, CP Adamu Abdullahi Elleman, at the Command Headquarters in Minna.

The NCCSALW boss said the transfer and destruction of recovered weapons was aimed at preventing their possible recirculation into the hands of criminal elements, particularly as illicit small arms and light weapons continue to fuel banditry and other violent crimes.

He commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, for directing state police commands to transfer recovered arms and ammunition to the Centre after investigations and other necessary procedures.

Kokumo called for stronger collaboration and information sharing between the Niger Police Command and the Centre, stressing that effective inter-agency cooperation remained critical to tackling the proliferation of illicit weapons.

He said the Federal Government established NCCSALW to coordinate efforts against illicit small arms and light weapons, with zonal structures across the six geopolitical zones and plans for state-level offices to strengthen its operations nationwide.

The Director-General, who was accompanied by the Centre’s North-Central Zonal Director, Abdullahi Adamu Eneche, also commended the existing relationship between the Niger Police Command and the Centre.

Kokumo described his meeting with CP Elleman as both official and symbolic, recalling their professional relationship while in active service.

Responding, CP Elleman described Kokumo as a distinguished retired senior police officer, mentor and seasoned professional, and assured him of the command’s continued support for NCCSALW.

He pledged that arms and ammunition recovered by the Niger State Police Command would be remitted to the Centre through the appropriate channels after investigations and other required procedures are concluded.

The CP said the move was in line with existing directives and would help ensure that recovered weapons were taken out of circulation rather than potentially finding their way back into criminal hands.

The meeting comes as security agencies continue efforts to curb the proliferation of illicit weapons, which remains a major concern in the fight against banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the North-Central.