Nigerian Army Declares 104 Soldiers Missing, Says They 'Absconded,' Are 'Deserters'

1 July 2026
Premium Times (Abuja)
By Yakubu Mohammed

The Nigerian Army has declared 104 soldiers attached to the 162 Amphibious Battalion along the Mandara-Buratai Road in Borno State as deserters after they went missing with their service rifles following a deadly terror attack on their base early June.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on 5 June that insurgents suspected to be members of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), launched an overnight attack on the soldiers at their base. Sources said the terrorists took advantage of heavy rainfall and poor visibility to launch the assault, killing some soldiers.

The army confirmed the attack, clarifying that those killed include five soldiers and three members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).

Missing soldiers

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According to an army document obtained by Sahara Reporters, the soldiers allegedly absconded from their duty post on 5 June, with their personal weapons after terrorists attacked their location.

The military signal, signed by a lieutenant, FI Ndubuisi, stated that Idris Mohammed, a staff sergeant and 103 others "absconded from their place of deployment to an unknown destination" with their personal weapons after Boko Haram or ISWAP terrorists attacked their base.

"In view of the foregoing, I am directed to respectfully affirm to you that said soldiers are yet to report back for duty and are hereby declared deserter(s)," the signal stated.

Military sources told Sahara Reporters that military formations nationwide have been notified to apprehend and hand over the affected personnel found within their areas of responsibility. They added that the bank accounts of the 104 soldiers have been frozen pending their arrest.

According to the document, those declared deserters comprise one staff sergeant, three sergeants, seven corporals, 38 lance corporals and 55 privates.

As of the time of the report, the army had not issued an official public statement on the declaration of the 104 soldiers as deserters. Army spokesperson Appolonia Anele, a colonel, could not be reached as she didn't respond to calls and messages seeking comment on the matter.

The full list

S/N

Rank

Name

Service Number

1

Staff Sergeant

Idris Mohammed

98NA/46/1906

2

Sergeant

Omotoyinbo Samuel

04NA/55/0901

3

Sergeant

Oyinbo John

09NA/64/5990

4

Sergeant

Folorunsho Michael

03NA/53/1791

5

Corporal

Onumaru Felix

12NA/68/6732

6

Corporal

Adenekan Amos

13NA/70/8004

7

Corporal

Basiru Garba

13NA/70/7338

8

Corporal

Fatoki Olusegun

13NA/70/6585

9

Corporal

Abu Mohammed

13NA/70/3372

10

Corporal

Emmanuel Moses

14NA/71/12704

11

Corporal

Aminu Bello

15NA/73/0416

12

Lance Corporal

Abdullahi Kamalu

12NA/68/6096

13

Lance Corporal

Adeniyi Kehinde

12NA/68/6985

14

Lance Corporal

Oko Michael

15NA/74/4413

15

Lance Corporal

Modey Ernest

15NA/74/3728

16

Lance Corporal

Usman Abdulazeez

15NA/74/4063

17

Lance Corporal

Adamu Hassan

16NA/75/4906

18

Lance Corporal

Mohammed Abdulrahman

16NA/75/3182

19

Lance Corporal

Onengiye Gabriel

17NA/76/3028

20

Lance Corporal

Hassan

17NA/76/3895

21

Lance Corporal

Ator Desmond

17NA/76/3971

22

Lance Corporal

Ibrahim Mubarak

17NA/76/3860

23

Lance Corporal

Rutai Ubale

17NA/76/4391

24

Lance Corporal

Musa Abdullahi

17NA/76/5351

25

Lance Corporal

Abayomi Sunday

17NA/76/5419

26

Lance Corporal

Mathias Clement

17NA/76/5578

27

Lance Corporal

Buhari Idris

17NA/76/5343

28

Lance Corporal

Bulama Mukhtar

17NA/76/1750

29

Lance Corporal

Isah Mukaila

17NA/76/4807

30

Lance Corporal

Jamilu Aliyu

17NA/76/5093

31

Lance Corporal

Ali Abdullahi

17NA/76/5112

32

Lance Corporal

Yusuf Saidu

17NA/76/5251

33

Lance Corporal

Abdullahi Garba

17NA/76/3665

34

Lance Corporal

Mubarak Aliyu

17NA/76/5658

35

Lance Corporal

Awa Micheal

17NA/76/0128

36

Lance Corporal

Aliyu Musa

17NA/76/1975

37

Lance Corporal

Onikoyi Lawal

19NA/78/0839

38

Lance Corporal

Sambo Abdulrahman

19NA/78/1758

39

Lance Corporal

Olorundare Azeez

19NA/78/2229

40

Lance Corporal

Shuaibu Ibrahim

19NA/78/2815

41

Lance Corporal

Muhammed Adamu

19NA/78/2628

42

Lance Corporal

Ibrahim Abdulaziz

19NA/78/3579

43

Lance Corporal

Samuel Alexander

20NA/79/1063

44

Lance Corporal

Nazeem Mahmud

20NA/79/4577

45

Lance Corporal

Ahmed Shuaibu

20NA/79/4450

46

Lance Corporal

Tamini James

20NA/79/2496

47

Lance Corporal

Abdulrazaq Salisu

20NA/79/2715

48

Lance Corporal

Tijani Adamu

20NA/79/3164

49

Lance Corporal

Gambo Rabiu

20NA/79/4485

50

Private

Saliu Sueliman

21NA/80/0560

51

Private

Musa Lucky

21NA/80/1598

52

Private

Mustapha Muhammed

21NA/80/2482

53

Private

Ayuba Rimanshong

21NA/80/3077

54

Private

Tijjani Mohammed

21NA/80/3239

55

Private

Jibrin Danladi

21NA/80/5705

56

Private

Edwin Friday

21NA/80/2256

57

Private

Abdullahi Tanko

21NA/80/4391

58

Private

Muhammed Lawan

21NA/80/4899

59

Private

Samotu Musa

21NA/80/0980

60

Private

John Samaila

21NA/80/4828

61

Private

Adebayo Monday

21NA/80/1581

62

Private

Silas Gibson

21NA/80/2718

63

Private

Aliyu Mamman

21NA/80/4831

64

Private

Bright Precious

21NA/80/5749

65

Private

Alkasim Maharaz

21NA/81/8880

66

Private

James Naphtali

21NA/81/6958

67

Private

Umar Taufeeq

21NA/81/10018

68

Private

Buhari Sani

21NA/81/10508

69

Private

Oleka Isaac

21NA/81/7686

70

Private

Ibrahim Mathew

21NA/81/10418

71

Private

Abubakar Idris

22NA/82/3494

72

Private

Yahaya Yusuf

22NA/82/3834

73

Private

Ibrahim Mohammed

22NA/82/2183

74

Private

Sabiu Muktar

22NA/82/2101

75

Private

Babangida John

22NA/83/10713

76

Private

Danjuma Ali

22NA/83/10284

77

Private

Mas'ud Ismail

22NA/83/11257

78

Private

Ahmed Abubakar

22NA/83/11381

79

Private

Sulaiman Musa

22NA/83/11662

80

Private

Saad Auwal

22NA/83/11685

81

Private

Abubakar Yusuf

22NA/83/6787

82

Private

Adamu Mohammed

22NA/83/7382

83

Private

Umar Sulaiman

22NA/83/7654

84

Private

Mahmud Saifullahi

22NA/83/8278

85

Private

Ebe Gideon

22NA/83/8346

86

Private

Abdulrahman Aliyu

22NA/83/8829

87

Private

Yarima Atiku

22NA/83/9767

88

Private

Idris Mustapha

22NA/83/6095

89

Private

Garzali Suleiman

23NA/84/5681

90

Private

Aliyu Abdullahamed

23NA/85/11771

91

Private

David Wisdom

23NA/85/11990

92

Private

Nikodemon Victor

23NA/85/12310

93

Private

Kazeem Lukman

23NA/85/8298

94

Private

Pinon Yunana

23NA/85/9525

95

Private

Haladu Isah

23NA/85/1021

96

Private

Abubakar Abdullahi

23NA/85/11366

97

Private

Friday Justine

23NA/85/11721

98

Private

Selim Lawan

23NA/85/12512

99

Private

Azaka Samuel

23NA/85/7240

100

Private

Zakari Aminu

24NA/86/4203

101

Private

Sufianu Bello

24NA/86/4934

102

Private

Abba Miko

24NA/86/5198

103

Private

Lawal Mubarak

24NA/87/6647

104

Private

Isiya Musa

24NA/87/8279

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