Through airstrikes in the Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger, the Air Component of Operation Whirl Punch has eliminated numerous terrorists as well as Yellow Jambros, a notorious terrorist and kidnapping mastermind.
This was disclosed by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja by Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, Director of Public Relations and Information.
According to Gabkwet, the terrorists were trying to bridge the Jikudna River in Galadima Kogo District in order to get to the Wurukuvhi axis of Chikun LGA when they were killed.
He claimed that prior to the attack, Yellow Jambros and his allies were being followed from Zamfara into Niger on 13 motorcycles along the Kaduna-Niger State border, namely towards Kusasu in Shiroro.
Five more terrorists who rode motorcycles joined Yellow Jambros’ convoy at Kusasu, increasing the total number of motorcycles to eighteen. The convoy then proceeded to the Jikudna River bank.
In an effort to cross and connect with other terrorists across the river, the terrorists and their eighteen motorcycles climbed into a sizable motorised canoe at the river’s edge.
This was the moment when the go-ahead to launch a strike was granted.
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“Yellow Jambros and his associates were rendered ineffective by the precision strike, which also damaged their motorcycles and sank the boat.
“Although it was unusual for terrorists travelling in a convoy of eighteen motorcycles during the day, it was clear that Yellow Jambros and his allies believed that airstrikes had been halted in the wake of the tragic Tudun Biri incident in Kaduna State and sought to take advantage of the perceived window of opportunity,” the statement read.
According to a NAF spokesman, Yellow Jambros and his associates were behind multiple kidnappings and murders that occurred in communities in the states of Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, and Zamfara as well as along the Abuja-Kaduna Road.
He alleged that Mohammed Sani, a kidnapping mastermind who was apprehended by Zamfara police in October 2020 after killing over 50 of his victims because they were unable to raise the necessary ransom, had stated that he was employed by Yellow Jambros.
The terrorist disclosed to Gabkwet that Yellow Jambros typically provided him with fictitious police and military outfits, firearms, and other weaponry required to carry out his mission.
