Samaila Kaigama, President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, has alleged that some victims rescued after the Ngoshe mass abduction were warned not to acknowledge his organisation’s role in securing their release.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Kaigama said his group participated in negotiations that led to the release of about 460 women and children abducted in Ngoshe, Borno State.
According to Kaigama, some of the rescued victims were later told not to disclose that the Borno South Youth Alliance had helped mediate during the negotiations.
“They blocked some of the people they rescued. They told them, ‘Keep quiet. Do not say Borno South Youth Alliance helped you or mediated in any way.’ Do you know what we did next? I released a voice note conversation of myself and one of the terrorists, one of the commanders,” Kaigama said.
He said the audio recording was intended to demonstrate that he had direct communication with one of the armed group’s commanders during the negotiations. However, Kaigama did not provide additional evidence during the interview to support his allegation that rescued victims were instructed not to speak about his organisation’s role.
