I.W. Iorakpen was a Nigerian Lieutenant who served as an intelligence officer in the 103rd Battalion during the Boko Haram insurgency. In 2015, he was interviewed by Vice News journalist Kay Larsen in the village of Konduga, where he told Larsen that the village was vital, as it controlled the approaches to Maiduguri and was near the Boko Haram stronghold in the Sambisa Forest. Larsen was also impressed by how all of the officers and soldiers were deployed in the trenches together, and that none of them were kept behind the lines in safety.