PHOTOS: Troops bust fuel station supplying terrorists in Borno

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have uncovered a fuel station in Maiduguri allegedly supplying petroleum products to Boko Haram terrorists operating in the Gwoza axis of Borno State and into parts of Cameroon.

The station, identified as Hadiza and Sadiq Filling Station, was raided while fuel was being loaded into about 500 jerrycans, in what authorities described as a significant disruption of a supply network aiding insurgents.

According to counter-terrorism analyst Zagazola Makama, who broke the news via a social media post, the military had been monitoring the station and a network of black-market suppliers for some time.

“The troops busted Hadiza and Sadiq Filling Station while its operators were brazenly loading fuel into 500 jerrycans, in what authorities described as a deliberate and treacherous attempt to empower the enemies of Nigeria,” Makama wrote.

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The syndicate reportedly transported the products in modified vehicles, including Volkswagen Gulf cars with altered fuel tanks.

Once outside the city, the fuel would be repackaged and smuggled to terror-controlled territories.

"But on this occasion, their luck ran out. “Troops stormed the scene and arrested several suspects caught in the act,” Makama noted

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During initial interrogations, the arrested suspects confessed to transporting fuel toward Pulka and areas near the Cameroonian border, a known stronghold of Boko Haram's Ali Ngulde faction.

However, they claimed ignorance of the identities of the end recipients, stating that different individuals collected the fuel at undisclosed drop-off points.

The Nigerian Army is expected to intensify investigations and dismantle the broader network facilitating fuel smuggling to insurgents, a critical lifeline that sustains their operations in the region.