In an update published by The Guardian, Nigerian troops under Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) successfully repelled coordinated attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP militants in the northeast. Between Saturday and Sunday, 29 terrorists were killed during fierce encounters in Lamusheri, Gujba, and the Forward Operating Base in Limankara. The military also reported the destruction of logistics structures and the seizure of a significant cache of weapons and ammunition.
Lt-Col Sanni Uba, the Media Information Officer for the Joint Task Force, confirmed that the operations demonstrated the military’s sustained pressure on insurgent enclaves. While 15 terrorists were neutralized on the ground in Gujba, another 10 were eliminated via precision aerial strikes as they attempted to flee on motorcycles. The military reported zero casualties on the side of the Nigerian forces, despite the intensity of the firefights.
Channels TV validated the success of the operation, noting that “the air component of the mission was instrumental in tracking the fleeing insurgents.” Leadership Newspaper also reported on the development, quoting a security source who said, “the synergy between ground troops and aerial surveillance is proving to be a game-changer in the Borno theatre.” Both sources emphasized that the situation in the affected local government areas remains firmly under the control of the Nigerian Army.
Echotitbits take:
These victories are vital for morale as the insurgency in the Northeast enters a more fragmented but still dangerous phase. The use of precision strikes on motorcycle-borne militants shows an improvement in real-time intelligence gathering. Watch for potential retaliatory “soft-target” attacks in neighboring communities as the insurgents are pushed out of their forest strongholds.
Source: The Punch – https://punchng.com/soldiers-foil-bharam-attacks-kill-29-in-borno-yobe/, February 23, 2026
Photo credit: The Punch
