The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has launched a new wave of coordinated air operations that have neutralised dozens of terrorists and bandits across multiple northern states, in what military authorities describe as one of the most decisive phases of the country’s counter-insurgency campaign this year.
The operations, conducted on November 9, 2025, targeted terrorist strongholds in Borno, Kwara, and Katsina States, dealing severe blows to Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters and armed bandit groups. According to NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the precision airstrikes were part of Operation Hadin Kai in the North East and Operation Fatan Yamma in the North West.
Ejodame confirmed that real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) enabled the Air Force to identify and destroy several insurgent enclaves, logistics depots, and weapon storage facilities in the Mallam Fatori and Shuwaram areas of Borno State.
“The strikes eliminated multiple ISWAP terrorists and crippled their operational capability,” Ejodame stated. “Air interdiction missions in the Northern Tumbuns region were executed with precision, disrupting the movement of terrorists using motorcycles and boats along the Lake Chad Basin.”
In the North Central region, NAF aircraft carried out targeted strikes on bandit camps in Garin Dandi and Chigogo communities of Kwara State, while additional air assaults were launched at Zango Hill in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, destroying key hideouts and eliminating several armed criminals.
Meanwhile, security operations on the ground have intensified nationwide. In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives of the Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit, in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS), local hunters, and vigilante groups, have expanded their patrols across forests and border corridors linking Bwari (Kaduna and Niger States) and Gwagwalada.
Despite these efforts, security concerns persist. In Kano State, at least four nursing mothers were reportedly abducted by bandits at Yan Kwada village in the Faruruwa community of Shanono Local Government Area on Sunday.
Similarly, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has directed security agencies to track down gunmen who launched a midnight assault on Sarkin Noma community in Keana LGA, assuring residents that justice will be swift. In Kebbi State, Governor Nasir Idris reaffirmed that no part of the state is under the control of bandits, adding that ongoing security operations have significantly improved safety in rural areas.
Adding to the tension in the North East, over 100 insurgents were reportedly killed in a violent clash between rival factions of Boko Haram (Jama’at Ahl as-Sunna lid-Da‘wa wal-Jihad) and ISWAP at Toumbun Gini, an island settlement in Abadam Local Government Area, Borno State. The confrontation, according to intelligence sources, erupted over leadership and resource control disputes within the groups.
Security analysts say the recent NAF operations demonstrate the military’s growing reliance on intelligence-led warfare and precision targeting, marking a significant evolution from earlier broad-based air campaigns.
Ejodame reaffirmed that the NAF will sustain the momentum, working closely with ground troops and other security agencies to ensure “terrorists and criminal networks have no safe haven anywhere in Nigeria.”
Source:Africa Publicity
