In what is being hailed as a major operational success, the Nigerian Army has apprehended two suspects linked to the Christmas Eve suicide bombing at the Al-Adum Jummu’ah Mosque in Gamboru market, Maiduguri.
The December 24, 2025 attack killed five people and injured 32 others after a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) during evening prayers. According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, the attack was reportedly coordinated by the JAS, Ansaru, and JNIM terrorist groups.
According to him, intelligence sources, reported that a Boko Haram team led by Munzir Abu Ziyadah, a notorious IED expert, allegedly prepared up to 10 person-borne improvised explosive device (PBIED) attacks from the Ali Ngulde camp axis of the state.
“Terrorists are reportedly pushing through the Ngoshe Mountains toward Gazuwa and Ngom, embedding themselves in Borno communities as they finalize attack plans.”
The December 24 mosque bombing was among the successfully executed attacks.
Acting on intelligence, troops from Operation Hadin Kai apprehended one suspect during joint patrols in Banki town, Borno, on Monday evening. The second suspect was subsequently arrested in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State.
Reports indicate that the suspect apprehended in Borno was intercepted while in possession of primed IED components.
Simultaneously, a collaborative effort with a local hunters’ group led to the arrest of another individual, identified as Ibrahim, in Damaturu; he was transferred to Maiduguri that same day to undergo interrogation.
The report also confirmed that Ibrahim was taken to the Izala Mosque in the Tashan Joni area of Maiduguri, where he identified a location; he claimed to have dropped a bag containing an IED after he could not get close enough to detonate it.
However, the bag was not found at the indicated location, Makama quoted one of its sources as saying.
It was however reported that upon interrogation Ibrahim confessed that he was an accomplice in the explosion at the mosque in Gamboru market.
In a startling confession, the suspect detailed the Christmas Eve attack: he allegedly placed a bag containing a bomb at the mosque’s entrance while his late accomplice, Adamu, executed a suicide bombing within the sanctuary.
He also confessed that six suicide bombers were deployed to Maiduguri ahead of the attack under the coordination of a terror kingpin.
The suspect further named three of the bombers – Salisu, Yusuf, and Adamu – who are residents of Maiduguri, while the other three, identified as Adamu, Yusuf, and Abdullahi, allegedly hailed from Michika LGA in Adamawa.
A strategic security sweep near the Cameroon–Nigeria border culminated in the seizure of a Peugeot vehicle laden with six bags of urea fertilizer. Authorities identified the haul as a critical raw material for manufacturing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Following the driver’s detention and the seizure of the initial consignment, tactical follow-up operations led to the arrest of the primary fertilizer dealer and the recovery of six additional bags of urea.
