Borno State Police Command has confirmed that two minors: Ayuba Ishaku (12) and Yakubu Haruna (13), have escaped six years after they were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents.
Both boys, natives of Mandaragrau village in Biu local government area, were kidnapped at ages six and seven on December 29, 2019.
The command’s public relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, said the children walked into the Divisional Police Headquarters on July 12 at 5:30 pm and narrated their ordeal and miraculous escape.
“We have a case like that. The boys were abducted on 29th December, 2019 and were kept in Boko Haram custody during the period of their abduction before they managed to escape.
“They were abducted when they were six and seven years old, respectively,” Daso said.
The terrorists kidnapped the boys withe their parents six years ago. They later abandoned the parents by the roadside, considering them too weak to continue the journey to the camp.
The boys reported that the group took them and seven unidentified adult male captives to a terrorist hideout in Mangari, Tumbun Mota area of Baga in Kukawa local government area.
The terrorists reportedly trained and armed the adult captives before deploying them in combat alongside ISWAP fighters.
According to the boys, the terrorists used them as domestic servants and trained them in firearm maintenance, although they were never allowed to join combat missions.
They said they had secretly planned their escape for months. On July 10, 2025, they fled when most of the fighters had gone on an operation and the remaining guards were fast asleep.
The boys trekked through the bush to a nearby village and eventually arrived in Maiduguri at 4:45 p.m. on July 12.
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