Five security personnel, comprising four soldiers and one Forest Guard, are feared dead following a suspected Boko Haram strike on the Tela-Bala and Guyaku settlements in Adamawa State, according to AllAfrica. The fighters reportedly entered the villages around 11:20 pm on Saturday, firing sporadically and forcing inhabitants to scatter. A local resident, Bala Guyaku, told the outlet that the attackers arrived on foot while most villagers slept. He noted that he and others escaped via a lesser-known trail to avoid the gunfire.
The raiders remained active until early Sunday morning, when they pushed toward Gombi, the local government headquarters. According to AllAfrica, deployed troops pushed the insurgents back forcefully. The assault also targeted a military armoured personnel carrier parked at a checkpoint in Guyaku. The attackers tried to tow the vehicle and ignite it but failed, eventually causing severe damage by firing at it from close range.
Rufa'i Umar Gombi, the state assembly member for Gombi Constituency, confirmed the incursion by phone. He stated that many people were killed, though the figures were not yet officially verified by authorities. An anonymous security analyst described the raid as a possible retaliation for a recent military operation in Hong Local Government Area, where troops reportedly eliminated six fighters two weeks prior. The Gombi traditional ruler, Aggrey Danjuma Ali, attributed the trouble to local informants who aid the insurgents, a view he shared during a recent palace visit.
Meanwhile, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri urged the Federal Government to upgrade Nigeria's international land borders using technology-driven tools like drones. Fintiri made this request during the Federal and State Security Administrators Meeting in Yola, which focused on security challenges in the North-East. Efforts to reach the Gombi Local Government Chairman and the Joint Task Force information unit were initially unsuccessful, with the latter's head reportedly on leave.