Author: Gist Correspondent

The Nigerian military has eliminated five high-ranking terrorist commanders and three of their deputies during sustained counter-terrorism operations across the North-East in January.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the activities of the Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI.

Maj.-Gen. Onoja said troops, working in close coordination with the Air Component, hybrid forces and local security groups, denied Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) terrorists freedom of movement and operational space across the theatre.

He stated that between January 1 and January 29, troops carried out aggressive ground and air offensives in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, neutralising scores of terrorists, arresting 74 suspects and rescuing 40 kidnapped victims.

According to him, sustained military pressure also led to the surrender of 44 terrorists and their family members within the period, as key networks and supply routes were degraded.

“Notably, five top terrorist commanders and three of their lieutenants were neutralised during intense firefights in the theatre of operations,” Onoja said.

He explained that major clearance and interdiction operations were conducted in Gwoza, Damboa, Mobbar, Askira-Uba and Konduga Local Government Areas of Borno State, as well as Michika in Adamawa State and Damaturu in Yobe State.

Onoja further revealed that two notorious terrorist commanders, identified as Basulhu and Ubaida, were killed during an encounter with troops at the Mandara Mountains on January 22, with assorted weapons and ammunition recovered at the scene.

He added that the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI, working with Nigerian Army Aviation, executed multiple air interdiction missions, including coordinated strikes on a newly identified terrorist hideout in the Northern Tumbuns, described as a hibernation zone for senior ISWAP commanders.

The operations, he said, also recorded significant successes in the Timbuktu Triangle, where combined air and ground assaults neutralised dozens of terrorists, forcing others to flee with severe injuries.

The defence spokesman noted that the sustained offensive has further degraded the operational capacity of terrorist groups and enhanced conditions for the safe resettlement of displaced persons in parts of the North-East.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to maintaining pressure on terrorist elements until lasting peace and stability are fully restored in the region.