The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has killed several members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and destroyed multiple bandit hideouts during a series of coordinated air operations across northern Nigeria.
According to a statement on Sunday by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the precision airstrikes were conducted on November 9, 2025, under Operation HADIN KAI and Operation FANSAN YAMMA. The missions, carried out in Borno, Kwara, and Katsina states, marked a decisive escalation in the military’s counterterrorism and counter-banditry campaigns.
“In Borno State, air interdiction missions dealt a heavy blow to ISWAP elements entrenched in the Northern Tumbuns,” Ejodame said. “Guided by real-time intelligence and surveillance feeds, air assets conducted strikes southeast of Shuwaram before engaging terrorists mobilising with motorcycles and boats near Mallam Fatori in the Lake Chad Basin.”
The operations destroyed insurgent logistics bases and weapons depots, neutralising dozens of terrorists and crippling ISWAP’s mobility and supply networks.
Simultaneously, NAF aircraft struck criminal hideouts in Garin Dandi and Chigogo, Kwara State, inflicting what the force described as “devastating losses” on the bandits.
In a related mission, air assets under Operation FANSAN YAMMA targeted Zango Hill in Kankara Local Government Area, Katsina State — a known enclave of a notorious terrorist leader. The strikes wiped out several fighters and destroyed key logistics hubs.
“During armed reconnaissance missions across the northwest corridor — including Zamfara, Kebbi, and Kaduna — aircrews spotted and neutralised terrorists attempting to flee near Wam Hill,” the statement added.
The NAF noted that the operations underscore its “renewed tempo” following recent directives from the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, to intensify offensive missions nationwide.
Aneke, at a recent strategy meeting with air component commanders in Abuja, urged them to “fly smarter and strike harder,” emphasising precision, professionalism, and intelligence-driven operations.
The Air Force reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining pressure on insurgents and criminals through targeted, intelligence-led missions designed to protect civilians and restore peace across affected regions.
The intensified strikes come days after President Bola Tinubu reiterated his government’s resolve to eliminate terrorism and banditry, amid renewed international attention on Nigeria’s security challenges.
“The task ahead is immense,” Tinubu said last week. “But we are resolved to move forward with unity and purpose to defeat terrorism and build a prosperous, resilient Nigeria.”
