More than 90 indiscriminate strikes employing Improved Explosive Devices, IEDs have been carried out in the northeast by Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province since 2022.
Due to heightened and ongoing pressure from the Nigerian Army, Air Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, and the combined forces of the Multination Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Niger, Cameroon, and Chad in the Lake Chad sub-region, the insurgents turned to use IEDs.
On Monday, Awana Gaidam, the head bomb maker and a senior member of the Boko Haram Terrorist Organisation, was killed by an IED he created himself (IED).
In addition to holding a prominent position inside the Boko Haram terrorist group’s command structure, the 39-year-old bomb builder was one of the skilled members who developed the IEDs.
Awana was suspected of planning numerous IED strikes against Operation Hadin Kai troops during combat patrols along important highways between Maiduguri and Damboa, from Bama to Pulka and Bita, as well as the broad area between Banki and Darajamal.
Intelligence sources disclosed that the bomb struck his vehicle along Njumia and Arra in the Sambisa Forest general area on March 27, killing him instantly.
According to the reports, Awana placed bombs in key locations to strengthen his camp inside the Sambisa jungle. Little did he realise, however, that his dastardly scheme to kill soldiers and disrupt military activities nearby would only end with the explosion shattering his corpse into numerous pieces.
Awana’s death signals a significant setback to the terrorists’ capacity to operate. The Nigerian military’s counterterrorism operation in the North East may have achieved a significant victory with the execution of Awana.
How the Nigerian military will take advantage of this development to achieve further success is still unknown.