Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has expressed shock over the use of drones by Boko Haram terrorists to attack soldiers, saying that despite well-circulated intelligence that the Mafa area of the state would be attacked, troops could not prevent it from happening.
Zulum disclosed this on Friday in Mafa town when he paid a post-assessment visit to areas attacked by Boko Haram in the early hours of Thursday.
The governor, while briefing newsmen, expressed his grave concern over the emergence of this new threat, stating that the successful use of a drone by the terrorists to target a key military asset exposes a critical vulnerability in Nigeria’s airspace security.
He said, “Honestly speaking, we have credible intelligence that Mafa will be attacked, and it has been duly circulated to all relevant authorities. I believe there is a need for us to come together, including the state and federal governments, as well as the military high command, to identify the gaps and address them directly.”
“I believe there might be sabotage within that has to be identified and addressed. We don’t have to blame each other; we have to come together and resolve this situation,” the governor stated.
Speaking on the drone use, the governor said, “One thing I want to comment on is the issue of drones. This is frightening. In Dikwa, I was told drones were used. The proliferation of drones, particularly in the hands of non-state actors, is of great concern for the entire country. We have to do something to stop the rampant use of armed drones,” Zulum said.
The governor stressed that the incident is not just a concern for Borno State but a direct threat to national security.
He called on the Federal Government to conduct an immediate and comprehensive review of the nation’s air safety and defence mechanisms.
“Our borders need to be strengthened and our airspace needs to be strengthened as well. This is something that we need to address urgently; this is not an issue confined to Borno alone. This is the right time for the security architecture to thoroughly look into strengthening the capability of our airspace to curtail the use of armed drones by terrorists,” he said.
While commending the Nigerian Armed Forces, Zulum also urged members of the public to cooperate with security agencies by providing credible information on suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods.
He said, “We are here to commiserate with the victims over what happened yesterday and build the confidence of our people.”
The governor added, “I urge the community to be vigilant and report credible information to the Nigerian Armed Forces. The members of the CJTF should also be resilient enough to complement the effort of the Army.”
PUNCH had reported that troops of Operation Hadin Kai killed more than 50 terrorists and repelled multiple coordinated attacks on military locations across Borno and Yobe States on Thursday.
The Nigerian military said the simultaneous attacks occurred between midnight and 0400 hours on Thursday when terrorists launched assaults on troops’ positions in Dikwa, Mafa, Gajibo and Katarko, situated within Sectors 1 and 2 of the Joint Operations Area.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force North East (OPHK), Lt.-Col. Sani Uba, in a statement on Thursday in Maiduguri, said the troops fought gallantly and professionally, repelling the attacks and inflicting devastating losses on the terrorists.
The statement reads: “Troops of Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) with renewed vigour successfully defeated terrorist attacks on multiple locations across the Joint Operations Area in the early hours of today, October 23, 2025.
“Between midnight and 0400 hours, the terrorists launched coordinated assaults on troops’ positions in Dikwa, Mafa, Gajibo, and Katarko, situated in Sector 1 (Borno State) and Sector 2 (Yobe State) respectively,” he said.
“The combined ground and air efforts resulted in the neutralisation of over 50 terrorists across all the locations,” he said.
