The chief bomb maker of the Boko Haram Terrorist Group, Awana Gaidam, has been killed by his own Improvised Explosive Device(IED) in Sambisa Forest, Borno State.
It was gathered that Awana was one of Boko Haram’s capable hands involved in making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
The 39-year-old bomb maker was believed to be responsible for plotting many IEDs attacks on troops of Operation Hadin Kai during fighting patrols, along major highways between Maiduguri to Damboa, Bama to Pulka, and Bita as well as Banki to Darajamal general area.
According to Vanguard, 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.
The sources disclosed that Awana had planted bombs in strategic positions to fortify his camp within the Sambisa forest but little did he know that his evil plot to kill soldiers and derail military operations in the general area, would only come back to claim his life as the explosive device and shattered his body into several pieces.
For some perspective on the immense proportions of this development, since 2022, Boko Haram and ISWAP have carried out more than 90 attacks in the North East using IEDs.
The insurgents resorted to the use of IEDs as a result of the increased and sustained pressure of the Joint Task Force Operation Hadin Kai with support of the combined troops of the Multination Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Niger, Cameroon and Chad in the Lake Chad sub-region.
The killing of Awana, therefore represents a serious blow to the operational capability of the Terrorists.
The death of Awana could can best be described as a major breakthrough in the Nigerian military’s Counter Terrorism Operation in the North East.
It remains to be seen how the Nigerian military will exploit this development for more successes.