The fresh onslaughts on terrorists

THIS month, particularly since the Christmas Day airstrikes launched on terrorist enclaves in Bauni forest in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State by the United States in coordination with the Nigerian authorities, the military has been keen to harp on the successes it is recording in its war against terror. Only on December 28, in a move seen as delivering a major blow to terrorist networks, the Nigerian Air Force carried out two lethal precision air interdiction missions in Zamfara State, destroying critical operational and bomb-making hubs. The strikes targeted Turba Hill and Kachalla Dogo Sule’s camp in Tsafe Local Government Area, a notorious haven for terrorists attacking communities in the North-West. According to the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Ehimen Ejodame, the missions were launched following multiple-source intelligence that confirmed the locations as key operational bases for ‘bandits’ responsible for recent deadly attacks.

NAF air assets were deployed to degrade the combat capabilities of the outlaws and deny them safe havens: precision munitions struck multiple active structures, triggering intense fires that destroyed the facilities and neutralised several bandits, effectively crippling the group’s ability to manufacture and deploy IEDs. Hear Ejodame: “Post-strike assessment confirmed the total destruction of the target and the neutralisation of several bandits. The second mission hit Kachalla Dogo Sule’s Camp, a notorious IED manufacturing and operational hub linked to recent attacks along the Dan Sadau–Magami axis. Multiple active structures were engaged, triggering intense fires that destroyed the facilities and neutralised several bandits, crippling the group’s IED production and deployment capacity.” Ejodame added that the strikes marked a significant blow to bandit networks in Zamfara, particularly their ability to manufacture and deploy improvised explosive devices. He reaffirmed the NAF’s commitment, in coordination with other components of Operation Fansan Yamma, to deny criminals freedom of action and support joint efforts to restore peace and security across the North-West and the nation at large.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Army indicated that its troops killed over 80 terrorists, rescued 34 kidnapped civilians, and apprehended dozens of criminals in coordinated operations between December 25 and 29. The successes were recorded across Borno, Adamawa, Sokoto, Katsina, Niger, Zamfara, Plateau, Delta, Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Specifically, in Borno, airstrikes and follow-up precision operations at Sowolwolo in Bama Local Government Area (LGA), and surrounding areas neutralised 19 terrorists, destroyed logistical bases, and disrupted ISWAP/JAS networks, while subsequent operations in Gulumba Gana, Kumshe, Kasho Miri, and Chongolokura resulted in the neutralisation of 38 additional terrorists. Again, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) identified further high-value targets for future engagement. In Niger and Katsina states, troops successfully repelled coordinated terrorist attacks at FOB Kwanar Dutse in Mariga LGA and along the Shanono–Katsina axis, rescuing one civilian and recovering 78 cows and 28 sheep stolen by the insurgents. This was in addition to significant success in kidnapping rescues. In Kebbi State, 16 civilians were rescued by troops of 223 Battalion in Unashi village of Danko Wasagu Local Government. In Plateau State, one victim was rescued in Yaka Naji Jandutse, Wase, with two DSS personnel sustaining injuries during the encounter.

Regardless of whether or not the renewed onslaughts are prodded by pressure from the US government, which has recently taken the Nigerian government to task over genocidal attacks in Christian-majority communities in the country, it is significant that the military is giving terrorists a nightmare December. With terrorists increasingly relying on IEDs and fortified hideouts, the latest airstrikes have been characterized as signaling a shift toward relentless, intelligence-backed air dominance, raising pressure on criminal networks across the North-West and intensifying the fight for territorial control. And that’s just as well: Nigeria has lost a staggering amount to terrorism, with estimated cumulative economic losses ranging from $90 billion to $113 billion between 2008 and 2021 alone. This is equivalent to about 11 percent of Nigeria’s GDP. Boko Haram terrorism alone subtracted between $12.6 billion and $15.4 billion from Nigeria’s annual GDP in 2021. But the impact of terrorism goes deeper: it has hobbled human capital, private investment, and productivity. It has occasioned steep agricultural losses, causing reduced crop and livestock outputs, with a reported 0.21 percent and 0.31 percent decrease, respectively, for every 1 percent increase in violence. When you factor in the decline of foreign direct investment from $23.99 billion in 2019 to $9.68 billion in 2020, say, and the surge in unemployment, the picture that emerges is completely horrendous.

If the Bola Tinubu government wants to give terrorists a raw deal, it has our full backing. Defeating terrorism means sharing information and collaborating with agencies globally to anticipate threats, addressing poverty, inequality, and lack of opportunities, challenging extremist ideologies, and building trust and partnerships with local communities to prevent radicalisation and encourage reporting of suspicious activities. It also means using targeted, proportionate force to disrupt and dismantle terrorist networks, while respecting human rights. And the earlier the government pursues the counter-terrorism war with single-minded dedication and renewed vigour, the better for the country. If anything, the Nigerian military, ranked among the biggest and strongest militaries in Africa, and with a history of continental and intercontinental achievements behind it, must shelve its seeming lethargy and prosecute the anti-terror war with clinical resolve.

As terrorists continue to launch strikes across the country—suspected Bello Turji-linked gunmen recently attacked Tudun Wada community in Sabon Birni LGA, Sokoto State, beheading the village head—it is not time to pontificate on kinetic and non-kinetic warfare. It is time to bury terrorists in a blaze of gunfire and give terrorised communities relief. It is good news that terrorists who had planned to launch Christmas Day attacks were neutralised by US strikes in Sokoto and that further operations by the Nigerian military have degraded bomb-making hubs, but building on the momentum and reasserting the authority of the Nigerian State is key. As we have pointed out time and again, terrorists taking advantage of Nigeria’s lax security architecture routinely stage attacks to prove that they can attack Nigerians any time they choose. If as reports suggest the terrorists in the North are relocating following the missile attacks carried out by the United States, the thing to keep in mind is that they will constitute renewed threat wherever they relocate to and so must be continually neutralised. The military must sustain the tempo.

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