By Chimezie Godfrey
The Nigerian Air Force has escalated its air campaign in the North-East, delivering sustained precision strikes that have neutralised scores of terrorists and destroyed key insurgent infrastructure across Sambisa Forest and the Tumbuns axis.
The intensified operations, conducted under the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI, targeted fortified terrorist enclaves, logistics hubs, and supply routes, significantly degrading the operational capabilities of insurgent groups.
According to a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Ehimen Ejodame, NAF air assets executed a high-impact air interdiction mission on April 30, 2026, at Alafa in the Sambisa axis.
The strike, based on credible intelligence, led to the destruction of confirmed terrorist infrastructure and supply nodes in successive attack runs.
“The strikes obliterated key hideouts and disrupted terrorist logistics networks,” the statement said.
The Air Force sustained the offensive with a follow-up operation on May 1, 2026, targeting a fortified terrorist stronghold at Metele in the Tumbuns.
Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets had earlier identified the location as a major insurgent enclave 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, decimating the location,” the statement added.
The sustained operations underscore a deliberate strategy of continuous pressure aimed at denying terrorists freedom of movement and preventing regrouping.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Sunday Kelvin Aneke, commended personnel for their professionalism and combat effectiveness.
He reaffirmed the Service’s resolve to maintain dominance in the battlespace.
“Operations will persist with increased intensity until all terrorist capabilities are dismantled and threats to national security fully neutralised,” Aneke said.
NAF intensifies air strikes, neutralises terrorists, destroys hideouts in Sambisa, Tumbuns
