Armed Forces of Nigeria, AFN under the command and control of the President and Commander-In-Chief, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has kept mum since early morning night on Monday when Amag News Agency, the International media outlet of the Islamic State West Africa Province, Iswap started sending and disseminating a photograph of Brigadier General Musa Uba in Iswap captivity, indicating untrue, the Brigadier General the Nigerian Army authority had earlier claimed on Saturday to be safe and led his troops back to base; a statement the army issued to challenge media reports that the Brigadier General was captured and held captive by the Iswap terrorists after the terrorists ambushed the 25 Task Force Brigade of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, killing several soldiers and civilian JTF members in Wajiroko village near Sambisa Forest in Borno State on Friday around 5pm, this, HumAngle news media that was among the earliest news providers that reported the Iswap deadly attacks on Nigeria soldiers on Saturday, after being challenged with a denial press release issued by the Nigerian Army authority that the Brigadier General was not kidnapped, claiming, the Brigadier General led his men to fought through the ambush of the terrorists, forcing the terrorists to flew in disarray, HumAngle on Monday early morning published a news report and insisted that the Brigadier General was in Iswap captivity, according to HumAngle, It was already in possession of a photograph showing the Brigadier General in Iswap captivity, but, due to Its editorial policy, It would not publish the image, soon, the image of the kidnapped Brigadier General became available to some media through Amag News Agency publication that claimed that the Brigadier General was executed shortly after being interrogated by the Iswap terrorists, the Amag only presented a photo evidence of the Brigadier General being captured, but, any material evidence, if the Brigadier General has been killed was not provided, following the apparent unfortunate development in the Nigeria army community, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar on Monday in a statement personally signed called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to admit incompetence and the President should either asked for help or tendered a letter of resignation immediately.

According to the former Nigeria Vice President, Atiku Abubakar: “I am deeply saddened and extremely shocked and disturbed by news making the rounds of the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba by terrorists and the failure of the military hierarchy to clearly explain how it happened or what went wrong, as initial official denials indicated that this was not the case.

This for me is unequivocally a failure of political leadership as the President seems only more interested in decimating the opposition by all means possible, while forgetting his crucial role as Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces.

General Musa’s death along with the deaths of some of the troops he was leading is one death too many and a bold terrorist resurgence our dear country can not afford. I urge all citizens and our military leaders to take heart, as even this season shall pass away.

To Mr. President: the security of the lives of our people is your primary responsibility and you must live up to it or be humble enough to admit incompetence and either ask for help or resign.

If I were President, I would order the military to occupy Borno State or any state under siege by bandits or armed groups until they clear those areas. We must care enough for the men and women who put their lives on the line for our sake.

I offer my condolences to the Nigerian Armed Forces, the family of the bereaved and indeed to all Nigerians. May this dark period pass over us as a nation, sooner than later”.

Premium Times in later report on Monday evening, stated that: “The Brigade Commander, M Uba, earlier declared safe by the Nigerian Army after fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) ambushed his team along the Damboa-Biu axis in Borno State, has now been reported dead.

The terror group, IsWAP, has announced that it captured Mr Uba and killed him. The group also shared photos to prove its criminal act.

PR-Nigeria, a news platform close to security agencies, also confirmed that the general was kidnapped and killed after military authorities thought he was safe after surviving the initial ambush.

On Sunday, citing a HumAngle story, PrEMIUM TiMES reported that Mr Uba was kidnapped after IsWAP terrorists ambushed his team alongside operatives of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) on Friday night. The army, however, denied that he was kidnapped and said he was safe after soldiers successfully repelled the ambush.

IsWAP claims it executed Mr Uba
in an Arabic statement published in its propaganda newsletter magazine, Amaq, IsWAP said it had captured Mr Uba and executed him after he was interrogated.

The 2016 breakaway faction of Boko Haram attached a picture collage of Mr Uba, showing when he was in office and when he was “captured.” “A picture of the brigade commander from inside his office and a picture of him after he was captured by the Islamic State,” the group captioned the picture.

“Islamic State fighters overthrew a senior officer in the Nigerian army after a successful ambush on a military force in Borno…,” the group said, adding that the commander was captured after “he fled” from the Wajiroko attack.

IsWAP said as soon as it received intel that Mr Uba had escaped, a unit of fighters “set out to search for him, and succeeded in capturing him on Saturday, near a village, after he was wounded.”

The purported picture of his capture shows Mr Uba’s camouflage stained with blood around his legs. IsWAP said it interrogated Mr Uba before killing him on the spot.

The terror group further taunted the Nigerian Army, describing its statement as an “outright lie and a miserable security failure.”

PR-Nigeria reports that Mr Uba earlier confirmed his safety to his superiors after an aerial operation that helped him escape the IsWAP attack. But the event took a tragic turn.

Reports of his location compelled the terrorists to track him down, leading to his capture and subsequent summary execution after an interrogation, the platform reported.

Mr Uba’s killings, according to experts, marked the first time the insurgents would kill an officer with such a high rank. His killing was blamed on insecure military communications within the north-east theatre, PR-Nigeria reported”.

HumAngle in an earliest news report on Monday morning, stated that “The Nigerian Army’s statement that Brigadier General M Uba, the Brigade Commander 25 Task Force Brigade “successfully led troops back to base” after an ambush last Friday, November 14, in the Damboa area of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, has been challenged by an exclusive, verified image obtained by HumAngle. The image shows the senior officer alive but held by insurgents, contradicting the military’s official account.

The ambush by IsWAP fighters on a joint military and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) convoy on Biu Road resulted in the deaths of several soldiers and CJTF members, with the general’s whereabouts initially reported as unknown. HumAngle’s early report cited sources on the ground who said the general was abducted during the attack. We later reported that he had escaped on foot and returned to base, after several security sources insisted on this.

The Nigerian Army also issued a statement denying the abduction, insisting the general had safely led his men back to base and that the incident was an ambush, causing casualties but no kidnapping. However, the military provided no evidence to back this claim at the time.

A verified image HumAngle has seen shows the commander in the custody of IsWAP insurgents, with a gunshot wound to the leg. Verification was carried out through detailed frame analysis, geolocation cross-checking, and confirmation from independent security sources familiar with the region and the incident. The image, shortly after the ambush, shows the general surrounded by armed fighters, appearing fatigued but alive. 

HumAngle, in line with our editorial policies, has made the editorial decision not to publish the picture. 

This new evidence directly challenges the army’s public statement, highlighting a significant discrepancy in the information being shared about frontline realities. The contradictory accounts raise concerns about communication gaps within the military and the potential consequences of misinformation for public trust and operational security.

The capture of a serving commander marks a rare and serious development in the ongoing conflict with insurgent groups in Nigeria’s Northeast. In recent months, IsWAP has intensified attacks around Damboa and the wider Borno region, escalating the dangers faced by both military personnel and civilians.

Security analysts who reviewed the image described the abduction as both an operational setback and a symbolic blow to Nigerian forces fighting the insurgency. Families of soldiers deployed in the area have expressed frustration and anxiety over the conflicting reports about their loved ones’ safety. Efforts to secure fresh comments from the Nigerian Army have been ongoing, but as of publication, no new statement has been issued addressing the emerging evidence.”