By Zagazola Makama
Following the recently concluded Chief of Army Staff’s Conference in Maiduguri, strategic realignments and operational recalibrations have resulted in a significant boost in joint force coordination, particularly between the Nigerian Army and the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK).
NAF leadership has also directed Air Commanders of Operation Hadin Kai to ensure reassertion of absolute dominance of the airspace in all insurgent-prone corridors of the Northeast day and night.
Since then, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) component has maintained continuous presence and precision-targeted strikes in Kalabalge, Rann, Damboa, and most recently New Marte, where the kinetic impact has been catastrophic for ISWAP.
At approximately 0135hrs, over 200 ISWAP terrorists launched a bold assault on New Marte using motorcycles and a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED).
Their mission: penetrate and overrun the base. Instead, they were met with a fierce wall of firepower, as troops of OPHK, reinforced by the 24 Task Force Brigade swiftly responded.
However, it was the precision aerial intervention by NAF that turned the tide with terrifying effect. Real-time ISR-guided bombings eliminated scores of the terrorists, forcing the survivors into a disorganized retreat.
They abandoned their VBIED, left behind several of destroyed motorcycles and dragged away at least 15 bodies, as captured in both drone feeds and intercepted comms.
A new video currently in military possession confirms that NAF strike platforms obliterated multiple terrorist clusters, even as they tried to regroup. In one instance, NAF bombed over 50 of the terrorists.
Persistent Nighttime Strikes: ISWAP fighters are now fully aware that darkness no longer provides cover. NAF now dominates the airspace 24/7, with infrared-enabled targeting and stealth patrols neutralizing sleeper cells and movements at night.
Fear of Unseen Threats: Survivors of recent air raids in Kalabalge and Rann have reported to local sources that “death comes from the sky without warning.”
This belief is now spreading among lower-tier fighters, causing desertions and paranoia.
The VBIED attack on New Marte was meant to shock and destabilize. Instead, it was neutralized and seized as a psychological trophy, a symbol of ISWAP failure. Their tactics are being anticipated and dismantled in real time.
ISWAP leadership is reportedly furious at the repeated breaches in operational secrecy, with increasing suspicions of informants within their ranks. This is leading to mistrust and internal purges, further destabilizing their structure. “Wherever you go, day or night — the sky watches. The sky strikes.”
