According to reports, terrorists from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have taken total control of Borno State’s Marte Local Government Area after a severe attack that overpowered Nigerian forces last weekend.
Journalists were informed by a military insider, who asked to remain anonymous, that the terrorists carried out a string of well-planned attacks that forced the Nigerian Army to withdraw from the area by May 12, 2025.
Additional verified information from the source showed that the military was finally compelled to leave Marte at 3 AM on May 12, 2025, following a string of intermittent attacks.
The soldiers that are currently at the 24 Task Force Brigade are among the numerous (unspecified numbers) who were captured and many who deserted. Marte is now under ISWAP.
“Every gunshot was heard in Dikwa, and the Nigeria Air Force was observed circling the area.” According to reports, the source told SaharaReporters, “The number of casualties has not yet been specified.”
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The takeover of Marte, a crucial local government area in the Lake Chad region, was said to be a major setback for the Nigerian military, which has been struggling to put an end to the insurgency in the Northeast for ten years.
The town has undergone multiple takeovers in recent years, making it a strategic and symbolic target for government and ISWAP troops.
Boko Haram stormed a Nigerian Army facility in Borno State, killing dozens of Nigerian soldiers, according to reports.
The last attack, which forced forces to relocate, took place on Saturday night at the base of the 153 Task Force Battalion in Marte Local Government Council.
Sources claim that during the raid, the attackers confiscated ammunition and set armored vehicles on fire.
One of the sources, an Army Major, told SaharaReporters, “So many of our men are feared dead as we already lost communication with the base since the attack. There was another Boko Haram dislodgement in Marte 153 TF Battalion on Saturday night.”
Boko Haram has engaged the 153rd Task Force Battalion (153 TF Battalion) in Borno State, Nigeria, on several occasions, notably through ambushes and the reoccupation of strategic locations like Marte.
In Malam-Fatori, in the Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State, a military installation was attacked, resulting in the deaths of 22 soldiers, including a commanding officer.
For almost a decade, Nigeria has been enmeshed in a fierce war with rebel groups that are mostly active in the country’s northeast.
Boko Haram is the most well-known of these groups; it began in the early 2000s but intensified its violent actions in 2009, launching a campaign of terror marked by bombings, mass kidnappings, and attacks on both military and civilian targets.
