From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), said soldiers fighting the counter insurgency operations have arrested a Chinese national in Borno State.
Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, who made this known, however did not reveal the identity of the Chinese national who claimed to be a miner and currently in custody undergoing interrogation.
This development comes less than a week after the military revealed it had apprehended four Pakistani nationals in the region, allegedly involved in training terrorists.
Gen Kangye, at a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, also announced the arrest of five terrorists logistics suppliers.
Giving an update on military operations conducted in the last one week, Gen. Kangye also said: “Troops arrested five terrorists logistics suppliers, collaborators, and a Chinese national claiming to be a miner during well-coordinated operations conducted in Kukawa and Ngala LGAs of Borno State, as well as Geidam LGA of Yobe State between 5 and 7 June 2025. Amongst the items recovered were a vehicle, a motorcycle, mobile phones, a Chinese International passport, while the sum of N10,000.00 was also recovered from them.”
Kangye questioned the suspect’s presence in an area under military operation.
He said: “Anybody that is caught, just like you know with criminals, they will just deny involvement. But the question is: what brought him there at the time of arrest? Why was he in an operational area where our troops were conducting operations?”
Kangye assured journalists that a full investigation is underway to determine the suspect’s intentions and possible links to insurgent groups.
He also dismissed claims that troops are often slow in responding to distress calls during attacks, especially in remote communities.
Kangye described the allegation as misleading, noting that logistical realities such as difficult terrain and the need for coordination affect response times.
“People must understand that our troops are not in every village.
“Sometimes, incidents occur 10 to 15 kilometres from the nearest military base. Before deployment, the appropriate subunit must be identified, a commander appointed, and vehicles and supplies secured. All of this takes time.”
He likened the situation to a hospital attending to multiple patients with varying degrees of urgency.