Anxiety Mounts In Borno As Boko Haram Deadline Expires For 404 Ngoshe Captives

Boko Haram's 72-hour ransom deadline for 404 Borno captives has elapsed. Twelve victims escaped during a military raid, but hundreds remain in danger.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 24, 2026, 4:28 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Daily Post Nigeria

A Deadline Passing In Silence

Tension has reached a critical point in Gwoza Local Government Area as the ultimatum set by a Boko Haram faction for the lives of 404 captives expired on Friday. The insurgents, specifically the Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) group, had previously demanded a ₦5 billion ransom from the federal and Borno State governments. As the clock ran out, neither the insurgents nor official government spokespersons had issued an update, leaving families in a state of agonizing suspense.

Escape Under Fire

Amidst the prevailing gloom, a glimmer of hope emerged when 12 of the original 416 abductees managed to flee to safety. Sources in the nearby town of Pulka reported that the escape occurred during a tactical military strike against insurgent hideouts. According to testimonies from the survivors—ten females and two males—the captors were forced to flee under the intensity of the military assault, allowing a small group to slip away while the insurgents moved the larger body of captives deeper into the forest.

The Ngoshe Tragedy Revisited

The current crisis traces back to a violent incursion on March 4, when fighters targeted both a military installation and the civilian population of the Ngoshe community. During that raid, several residents were killed before hundreds were marched into the Sambisa forest. The situation escalated on April 20 when the insurgents released a video message threatening to relocate the victims to inaccessible regions or harm them if their financial demands were not met within three days.