Troops of Air Task Force (ATF), Operation Hadin Kai, have killed a notorious leader of Boko Haram, Alhaji Modu who is also known as ‘Bem Bem’.
Modu was reportedly killed alongside 27 other Boko Haram fighters in Borno.
A counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama who disclosed this, said Modu was killed on August 3, in military airstrikes in Mandara mountain, Gwoza LGA of Borno.
“A battle damaged assessment has indicated that the air interdiction had recorded devastating impact as many jihadists were killed, while others were severely wounded,” he quoted a source as saying.
According to him, sources said, the operation followed credible intelligence reports indicating that the ISWAP fighters were converging in large numbers with the intention to conduct attacks.
“Bem Bem was a popular drug baron who rose from an armed robber to Boko Haram Kingpin. He took part in the displacement of Bama town in 2014, and the killing of hundreds of people before declaring it as its caliphate,” Makama said.
He added that Modu had been hiding in caves in the Mandara mountain from where he coordinated attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger Republic.
In a similar development, Makama said soldiers, on Sunday, repelled attempts by Boko Haram fighters to attack Bama LGA.
He said the insurgents attempted to attack the town located about 45 miles to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, around 2:30 am.
Borno State has been the epicentre of the insurgency since 2009 when the Boko Haram sect revolted against the Nigerian government by launching an Islamic Jihadist campaign.
Spin off groups such as ISWAP, Ansarul and bandits have since joined the fray making it increasiongly difficult for the Security Forces to put an end to the menace.
This latest success following the action by the Airforce will be a boost to the Security Forces and their efforts aimed at ridding the nation of insecurity and the menace of hoodlums under various guises.
