As the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a multinational formation, comprising units, mostly military, from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, intensifies operations to eradicate remaining Boko Haram terrorists and ISWAP on the shores of Lake Chad basin, a major operation by the Nigerian armed forces has also commenced to push back bandits in the country’s northern states.
The Chief Military Public Information Officer in Ndjamena, Chad, Lt.-Col. Abubakar Abdullahi, stated that the residents of North East Nigeria and the Far North of Cameroon might observe increased presence of multinational troops and equipment as a result of a surge to bolster the efforts of various national operations and eradicate terrorists and their enclaves in MNJTF’s areas of operations.
According to him, the MNJTF is determined to cleanse the Lake Chad basin of terrorists, ensuring the safety of the region and a more secure environment for everyone.
Reports also emerged that troops of the military task force against banditry, Operation Hadarin Daji, in Nigeria’s north western state of Zamfara, eliminated a Bandit Kingpin, Aminu Dogo and several fighters in its continued raid on bandits’ enclaves. The operation was carried out in collaboration with the state’s security outfit, the Zamfara Community Protection Guards (ZCPG), also known as the Askarawan Zamfara, in the North West of the town of Magazu in Tsafe Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region, reported Intelligence sources as saying that the strike was recorded on May 1, when the troops stormed the camp, noting that they also recovered 50 livestock stolen by the bandits.
According to Zagalola, the sources also reported that the recent operations were in demonstration of its determined efforts to speedily eliminate the insurgents in the northern states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and other parts of the North West.
He said that the troops have been conducting well coordinated land and air offensives within the past weeks, resulting in the elimination of a number of bandits including their commanders as well as the rescue of people held hostages in their enclaves.
The troops were also reported to have repelled two simultaneous attacks within Tsafe LGA, where they engaged top bandit kingpins, Kachallah Hassan Nabamamu, Kachallah Mal tukur and Kachallah baldu and dozens of their fighters.
Sources also reported that, on April 30, to May 1, 2024, Nigerian army troops in collaboration with the Special Police Unit and Askarawan Zamfara conducted another series of operations on bandits enclaves around the communities of Yandoto, Fegin Baza, Dan Marke and Gidan Dawa in Tsafe LGA. The operation resulted in the elimination of several fighters.
The heightened tempo in military operations have raised hopes of many that there may be signs of a significant victory over the insurgency in the country’s northern region and the Lake Chad area.
However, several security experts say further coordination in intelligence gathering and military operations among regional forces, and huge financial investments, are still required to gain the upper hand against the large numbers of insurgents spread across the region.
