The Nigerian Air Force is shifting from broad bombardments to surgical strikes, using actionable intelligence to hit terrorist logistics, IED factories, and fortified island bases across the North-East with minimal collateral damage.
Between April 30 and May 1, NAF jets under Operation HADIN KAI executed back-to-back missions that show the new playbook. On April 30, air assets hit Alafa in the Sambisa axis, destroying confirmed terrorist infrastructure and supply nodes after surveillance tracked movement to the site.
A day later, intelligence and surveillance exposed a fortified island stronghold at Metele in the Tumbuns, complete with entrenched fighters, storage facilities, and defensive trench systems.
“With scores of insurgents confirmed within the target area, NAF aircraft delivered precise and overwhelming firepower, striking and decimating the location”.
Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame said the strikes were based on credible intelligence on terrorist intent, movement, and logistics. The pattern repeated in January, when persistent surveillance identified IED production facilities at Abirma and Chiralia in the Timbuktu Triangle.
The resulting strikes produced multiple secondary explosions clear indicators of the elimination of explosive stockpiles.
Why it matters: Precision is denying terrorists “freedom of movement, operational depth, and any form of sanctuary”. It also reduces civilian risk in a region where Boko Haram and ISWAP have operated for 17 years, displacing 2 million people.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, praised the professionalism and combat effectiveness of crews, signaling that intel-driven air power is now central to dismantling terrorist networks in Sambisa, the Tumbuns, and Mandara Mountains.
