KEY POINTS

• A Nigerian Army University Biu professor died in Boko Haram captivity nearly a year after his abduction.
• He was kidnapped on March 2, 2025, along the dangerous Damaturu–Biu Road.
• His family says illness caused by harsh detention conditions led to his death, and funeral prayers have been scheduled in Maiduguri.

A professor with Nigerian Army University Biu, Abubakar Mohammed El-Jummah, has died while in the custody of Boko Haram nearly one year after he was abducted by insurgents.

Family sources confirmed that the scholar passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

They said the death of El-Jummah followed a brief illness believed to have been caused by the harsh living conditions, deprivation, and prolonged suffering he endured during captivity.

Prof. El-Jummah was kidnapped on March 2, 2025, while travelling along the Damaturu–Biu Road, a route widely regarded as one of the most dangerous corridors in Nigeria’s North-East due to repeated attacks, ambushes, and abductions by armed groups.

Security analysts have long warned about the vulnerability of commuters on the highway, which connects communities in insurgency-affected areas and has remained a hotspot despite military patrols.

Burial Conducted, Funeral Prayer Scheduled

The deceased professor has since been buried in accordance with Islamic rites. His family also announced that a Salat al-Ghaib (funeral prayer in absentia) will be held for him at the Ngomari Old Airport Juma’at Mosque behind his residence in Maiduguri at 2 p.m. on February 12, 2026.

Colleagues and associates described Prof. El-Jummah as a dedicated academic whose contributions to scholarship and national development will be deeply missed. His death underscores the continuing human cost of insurgency in the North-East, where academics, aid workers, and civilians remain at risk.