Troops Repel Major Chibok Attack as Boko Haram Atrocities Persist

Breaking News, National Security, Nigeria

Troops Foil Massive Night Attack on Chibok as Old Wounds and New Failures Collide

Nigerian troops repelled a 300-strong night attack on Chibok. The victory recalls the Chibok girls atrocity and underscores continued threats in Borno State.

Atlantic Post

November 29, 2025

3 minutes

Boko Haram, Borno Security, Chibok, Chibok Girls, ISWAP, Nigerian Army, Operation Hadin Kai, Sambisa Forest

In the early hours of today troops of 28 Task Force Brigade repelled a large scale terrorist assault on Chibok communities in Borno State.

According to an official Nigerian Army press release the raid, launched at about 0250 hours by an estimated 300 assailants from multiple axes, was detected early and defeated after a sustained firefight and coordinated interdiction that involved 25 Brigade ambush positions and air support from a Super Tucano under Operation HADIN KAI.

The Army said no personnel or equipment were lost. They are analyzing footage of the mass withdrawal. This analysis is for follow-up action.

The tactical success must be welcomed. Yet it also underlines a familiar pattern. Large insurgent councils can still gather at the Sambisa enclave’s edges or inside it. They can launch sophisticated night operations that test perimeter defences. The quick detection and decisive use of aerial reconnaissance and interdiction this time points to improved real-time intelligence. But the episode also exposes continuing vulnerabilities in community protection and in the long-term campaign to deny terrorist sanctuaries.

The public needs more than one-off victories. It needs sustained area control and civilian protection that prevents terrorists from reconstituting and striking again.

Chibok is not an ordinary theatre of violence. It is where the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls took place. This event transformed the global view of Boko Haram. It also left deep social and religious scars.

Amnesty International has repeatedly warned that many remain unaccounted for. It also states that survivors continue to bear the physical and psychological burden of captivity.

The Chibok narrative serves as a stubborn reminder. Mass atrocities are a central feature of the insurgency. The targeted persecution of vulnerable communities is also central to the insurgency.

Statistically the Boko Haram and ISWAP campaign across the north east has been catastrophic. Over the last decade, the insurgency has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths. It has also caused the displacement of more than two million people. This has produced an enduring humanitarian crisis and a fracturing of social trust.

Mass school kidnappings have continued as a tactic to terrorise communities and degrade state authority. Between 2014 and the present, there have been dozens of major student abductions. At least 1,799 students were taken in twelve large incidents. This trend accelerated in recent years. It underlines the persistent threat to education and civilian life.

A comparative view places the Chibok era atrocities within a broader arc of atrocity crimes in the region. Human Rights Watch documented waves of murders and mass attacks on civilians during the height of the insurgency, findings that have driven international concern about war crimes and crimes against humanity.

These are not isolated criminal acts. These are systematic attacks on communities. Collectively, they amount to an assault on Nigeria’s plural society. Both Christians and Muslims alike have been targeted or coerced.

Policy lessons are plain. Tactical successes must be consolidated with governance, reconstruction and justice. Intelligence led interdiction works but must be matched by persistent presence, civic protection, credible prosecutions and reconciliation measures for survivors.

The military should continue to publish timely evidence of operations. This evidence must be verifiable. Additionally, the military should work closely with international investigative bodies where atrocity crimes are alleged.

Above all, governments at federal and state levels must convert battlefield reports into a durable shield for civilians. They must also develop a credible roadmap to dismantle terrorist networks for good.