Abuja: Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma has neutralised over 20 terrorists in airstrikes that decimated notorious bandit hideouts in Unguwar Goga Hill-Forest in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State. Deputy Director, Public Relations and Information, Group Capt. Kabiru Ali, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), announced on Saturday in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the airstrikes, executed in the early hours of Thursday, were based on careful and actionable intelligence. Group Capt. Kabiru Ali stated that the NAF’s advanced operations destroyed the fortified camps of notorious bandit kingpins, Gero (Alhaji) and Alhaji Riga, neutralising over 20 criminals, with additional casualties reported in the surrounding rocky hills.
He further explained that the airstrikes had a decisive impact on the criminals, with an assessment of the full extent of the damage still ongoing. ‘Riga and Gero were key enablers of banditry, sheltering terrorist elements responsible for relentless ambushes along the Funtua-Gusau Road, particularly between Yankara and Sheme villages,’ Ali noted.
He added that their elimination marks a significant breakthrough in the ongoing military campaign to restore peace in the North-West. ‘The NAF, in coordination with ground forces, remains relentless in its mission to eradicate all threats and dismantle bandit strongholds,’ he said.