Military Detains Chinese National, Arrests Five Terrorist Collaborators in Sokoto Raid

The Nigerian Army’s 8 Division conducted a midnight raid in Illela, Sokoto State, detaining a Chinese national named Zhao and arresting five Nigerians suspected of collaborating with terrorists.

The operation targeted a gold mining site in the arid hills of Illela, where intelligence linked illegal operations to Boko Haram and ISWAP’s funding networks. Zhao, a supervisor at the site, faced interrogation in Sokoto’s Giginya Barracks over alleged financial transactions with insurgent groups, his face grim as soldiers escorted him from a dusty compound littered with mining tools.

The five collaborators, local traders from Illela’s bustling market, confessed to supplying explosives and fuel to bandits operating in Sokoto’s forests. The raid uncovered 10 AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition, and stacks of naira bundled in sacks, hidden beneath a mining tent. Sokoto, a hub of cross-border trade with Niger, has endured relentless banditry, with 200 abductions in 2024 alone disrupting cattle markets and farming villages.

The army sealed the mining site, its entrance guarded by armored vehicles, as investigators sifted through ledgers detailing gold shipments. The arrests aimed to choke terror financing, which fuels attacks on schools and highways, paralyzing Sokoto’s economy. Zhao’s detention, under tight security, raised questions about foreign involvement in Nigeria’s mineral-rich northwest, as the military vowed to dismantle illicit networks threatening national stability.