…As NAF launches nationwide airstrikes on insurgents
A major escalation in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism front has seen the deaths of over 200 militants following violent clashes between rival jihadist groups in the North-East, even as the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) intensified precision airstrikes against insurgents and bandits across several northern states.
Security and intelligence sources confirmed on Monday that the fierce battle between Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters erupted in Dogon-Chiku, along the shores of Lake Chad, on Sunday. The confrontation, driven by long-standing ideological and territorial rivalries, left at least 200 ISWAP fighters dead.
According to a member of a local anti-jihadist militia assisting the Nigerian military, Babakura Kolo: “From the toll we got, around 200 ISWAP terrorists were killed in the fight”.
A former Boko Haram member who monitors extremist activities in the region corroborated the account, describing it as “the worst clash between the two groups since they began attacking each other.”
A Nigerian intelligence officer said the military was monitoring the aftermath, adding that “the fighting is good news for our operations,” as it weakens both terrorist factions battling for control around the Lake Chad Basin.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force announced it has intensified nationwide counterterrorism and counter-banditry campaigns.
In a statement by its spokesman, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the NAF said coordinated air missions have decimated ISWAP positions in Mallam Fatori and Shuwaram, Borno State, while destroying major bandit hideouts in Kwara, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna States.
The operations, executed under ‘Operation Haɗin Kai’ and ‘Operation Fansan Yamma’, mark a renewed phase in the military’s offensive, following directives from the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke.
Ejodame said the missions underscore NAF’s resolve to “project smarter, intelligence-driven airpower with purposeful lethality against insurgents and criminals.”
However, despite the military’s intensified operations, communities in Zamfara and Sokoto have raised concerns over worsening insecurity. Farmers report that armed bandits continue to impose “harvest taxes,” demand cash or produce, and restrict access to farmlands. “They gave us a timetable on when to go to our farms, how much to pay, and even take a portion of our grains. Those who refuse are attacked or abducted,” said a farmer in Tsafe, Zamfara State.
