The Nigerian military has announced the elimination of 35 jihadist militants through a series of coordinated airstrikes near the northeastern border with Cameroon. According to a military statement, these strikes targeted four locations to prevent an imminent assault on ground troops operating in the region.
This development emerges amid Nigeria’s prolonged security challenges involving violent jihadist factions, particularly Boko Haram and the breakaway Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). These groups have contributed to a decade-long insurgency marked by widespread violence, sectarian unrest, and kidnappings for ransom.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, a coalition of Nigerian leaders—including former government ministers, business figures, and civil society activists—issued a cautionary statement. They emphasized that parts of Nigeria are experiencing “war-time levels of slaughter,” despite the nation being officially at peace. Their concerns align with a May report by Amnesty International, which documented over 10,217 fatalities since President Bola Tinubu’s assumption of office two years ago.
The coalition is advocating for the creation of a Presidential Task Force vested with broad authority to end the multiple crises plaguing the country, including the resurgence of militant Islamist groups in the northeast.
Recently, the Nigerian army reported killing approximately 600 militants over an eight-month period in the troubled region, though these figures await independent verification. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) reaffirmed its commitment to providing air support for ground operations aimed at dismantling jihadist strongholds.
According to United Nations data, the conflict has claimed over 35,000 lives and displaced two million people. To bolster counterinsurgency efforts, the United States recently approved an arms sale valued at $346 million (approximately £256 million) to assist Nigerian forces.
An expert think tank, the Institute for Security Studies, notes that jihadists have carried out at least 15 attacks this year near Nigeria’s borders with Cameroon and Niger, utilizing modified commercial drones to strike army bases—tactics complicating military reinforcements.
In northwestern Katsina state, Nigerian forces also conducted airstrikes against armed criminal gangs, known locally as “bandits.” This operation rescued 76 kidnapping victims, including women and children. However, Katsina’s Commissioner for Internal Security, Nasir Mua’zu, confirmed that a child tragically died during the rescue mission.
The action followed a deadly assault in Unguwan Mantau village, where gunmen attacked mosque worshippers and local residents, killing at least 50 people and abducting around 60 others, some of whom were recovered in the military operation. Katsina and neighboring Zamfara state continue to endure the heaviest toll from banditry and violence in northwestern Nigeria.