By Suleiman Umaru
Between 2021 and now, trans- border Terroris and their local collaborators had made communities in Chikun Local government Area, of Kaduna state, too hot for the residents. The attack, was coming almost on a weekly basis that Nasir El-Rufai , the state governor had cried out to President Muhammadu Buhari, for help .
The situation was so bad that the Ansaru Group, a splinter Group of the Islamic Fundamentalist Group, BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, had set up Cell residences in the local Governemnt Area and Niger, Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Army General and former Nigerian military President , home state, to facilitate their operations.
Take for instance, some three weeks ago, no fewer than several residents of Keke B , area of the new Millennium city in the Chikun Local government area were said to have been kidnapped by Terrorists/Banduits who were said to have invaded the Community. Last April, the Terrorists/ Bnadits had invaded ungwar Bulus and Ungwar Gwari, also in Chikun Local government Area and killed a police officer’s son and two others. The Bandits were said to have abducted 20 residents of Ungwar Bulus and escaped to their enclave in the Kaduna forest.
Signs that the Transborder Bandits have played into the Nigerian military, emerged on August 11, 2022, when the air Component of Operation Whirl Punch in the north western geopolitical region killed one Alhaji Shanono, described as a notorious Bandits Group Leader at Ukambo Village about 131 Kilometers from Kaduna city. Shanono, the Bandits Group Leader was said to have been killed alongside with 17 of his followers.
The Katsina state born Nigeian President had ordered the military to send the terrorists/Bandits posing as a threat to the country to Their Creator. This may have encouraged Air Marshal Amao, Chief of Air Staff, CAS, to give a matching order to the Operational Commanders in the various theatres of war to ensure that ‘’they deploy maximum fire power against the Bandits and terrorists’’.
This may have informed why the frontline officers Commanding the air Component of Operation Whirl Punch had embarked on a clearance of the Chikun Local Area of the Terrorists/Bandits just as the air Component of the Operation Hadin Kai have done in the Tunmbuns area of the Lake Chad region in Borno state where Amir IBN Usman , a notorious ISWAP, Commander was killed. Five other Key Comma:nders of the Group: Ibn Usman, Hani Abdullahi, Abubakar Shuwa, Abu Jibrillah and Abu Ali were also wiped out from the face of the earth.
The air strikes that had killed Shanono, the Bandits one of the Terrorists Group Leaders may have forced Troops of Operation Sanity ‘’to take the battle to an identified Terrorists/Bandits Group enclave in the Galbi general areain Chikun Local government Area.
Many believe that if Shanono, one of the Terrorists/ Bandits Group Leader, described as a master strategist in terrorists circles had not been killed, the attacks in Chikun, Local Government Area , may have been may worse as they know how to evade military attacks and escape into the neighbouring Niger Republic Madawa and Bayan Dutsi region through Mahadi region which is close to Zamfara Sokoto and Katsina states.
Samuel Aruwan, the Kaduna state Commissioner for Home Affairs, had said that based on the Operational feedback to the state government by the ‘’Troops of Operation Forest Sanity, supported by air assets of the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, which had conducted the clearance operations in the Galbi General area of Chikun Local Government.
The Commissioner enthused that the Troops had ran into a stiff resistance from the Asaru Group terrorists/Bandits , noting that after a fierce battle, ‘’scores of the terrorists were killed as they could not stand the superior fire of the ground troops supported by the air strikes’’.
Nasir El-ufai, the Kaduna state governor who could not hide his feelings had expressed his appreciation ‘’to the ground Troops, air force crews, police personnel, intelligence agencies operatives, and Local Vigilante members who were said to have contributed to the success of the clearance operations in Chikun Local government Area’’. He was said ‘’to have urged the security agencies personnel in the state to increase the momentum of their operations to wipe out all the terrorists/Bandits in Kaduna forests for good’’.
The Ansaru terrorists/ Bandits Group who were able to survive the Nigeria Air Force, NAF, strikes may have escaped leaving ‘’ ‘’ behind Two General Purpose Mainshine Guns, GPMGS, three AK47, and seven motor cycles which were recovered by the military from their abandoned enclave in the Galbi forest general area. The items wee said to have been carted away by Troops of Operation .Whirl Punch to their Operational base I Kaduna.
