THIS DAWN — Nigeria’s security crisis escalated further on Thursday, November 20, 2025, following a brutal ambush by Boko Haram insurgents in the Warabe community of Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State, leaving eight members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) dead and three others missing.
The attack, which occurred around 10:00 a.m. on November 20, targeted CJTF volunteers who had gone to collect firewood.
Warabe, a remote community situated between Pulka and Gwoza, has long relied on community vigilantes and local hunters for protection due to the absence of a permanent military presence.
Residents told reporters that the insurgents arrived on at least five motorcycles carrying about 20 fighters heavily armed with machine guns, while additional militants advanced on foot.
CJTF operating with limited ammunition
The CJTF defenders, armed with limited ammunition, attempted to repel the assault but were quickly overwhelmed.
Witnesses said the militants executed the volunteers, seized their weapons, and used the victims’ mobile phones to lure other hunters into a trap.
Backup forces arrived hours later, but the terrorists had already fled into the surrounding bush with stolen rifles.
Three CJTF members remain missing and are feared abducted.
This latest attack comes on the heels of growing insecurity across the country and follows last week’s killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba.
General Uba, it could be remembered, was abducted during an ambush by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in Borno.
Despite initial military denials, multiple field sources confirmed that the senior officer was taken by the militants after a violent attack that also claimed the lives of soldiers and CJTF operatives.
Efforts to rescue him proved unsuccessful as he was murdered by the terrorists.
In addition, Nigeria is still reeling from the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Renewed wave of kidnappings, attacks
The wave of kidnappings and targeted attacks has heightened national anxiety and renewed criticism of the government’s handling of security.
Military authorities say senior commanders, including the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, have been deployed to coordinate rescue operations.
However, residents in affected communities argue that the lack of sustained military presence leaves them vulnerable to repeated assaults.
Boko Haram and ISWAP seem to be intensifying their offensives across the Northeast and Northwest.
Communities fear that the ongoing violence, worsening abductions, and the killing of military personnel reflect a widening security breakdown that the government is yet to contain.
