By Nkechi Eze
The Nigerian Air Force has sustained an unrelenting air interdiction campaign against terrorist elements across key threat corridors in the North-East and North-West, delivering a series of coordinated, intelligence-led strikes that have significantly degraded insurgent capabilities and denied them safe havens within Nigeria’s sovereign territory.
The operations, conducted between 1 and 2 January 2026 under the joint task forces of Operations HADIN KAI and FASAN YAMMA Sector 2, were executed following actionable intelligence on terrorist intent, movement patterns and logistics. According to an official statement signed by the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, NAF air assets were decisively employed to strike identified hideouts, movement routes and assembly areas, reinforcing the Service’s resolve to deny terrorists freedom of movement, operational depth and any form of sanctuary.
In the North-East theatre, the air component delivered successive precision strikes against deeply concealed terrorist enclaves at Abirma and Chiralia within the notorious Timbuktu Triangle. The targets were engaged after persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance confirmed the presence of active facilities linked to improvised explosive device production and attack planning. The strikes led to the complete destruction of the targeted structures, while multiple secondary explosions were observed, indicating the elimination of explosive stockpiles and critical logistics.
Follow-on interdiction missions were subsequently carried out at Guva in the Mandara Mountains, where additional terrorist storage and coordination nodes were identified and neutralised. These strikes, the Air Force said, have severely degraded the terrorists’ capacity to regroup, resupply or mount coordinated attacks during the festive period and in the weeks ahead.
The campaign was simultaneously extended into the North-West, where NAF aircraft conducted a decisive air interdiction mission around Karaduwa Giginya Na in Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State. Intelligence tracking revealed terrorist elements moving in large motorcycle convoys, converging at a forested location. The air assets engaged the target area with precision, resulting in the neutralisation of several terrorists, the destruction of multiple motorcycles and the elimination of assorted weapons, as confirmed by post-strike assessments and corroborated local feedback.
“These sustained, multi-theatre operations demonstrate the Nigerian Air Force’s overwhelming airpower presence, rapid strike capability and unwavering resolve to systematically dismantle terrorist networks wherever they operate,” Air Commodore Ejodame stated.
He assured Nigerians that the Service would continue to prosecute air operations with precision, persistence and professionalism in close support of joint forces on the ground. “Terrorist elements threatening innocent lives will be met with decisive force,” he said, reaffirming the Nigerian Air Force’s commitment to protecting civilians, supporting national security objectives and restoring lasting peace and stability across all theatres of operation.
