Senior ISWAP Commanders Give Up to Nigerian Forces

The Joint Task Force (North East), operating under Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), is reporting significant breakthroughs in its ongoing counter-terrorism campaign. A new contingent of high-ranking commanders from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has voluntarily surrendered to the Nigerian military, following intense operations across the North-East.

According to security sources who spoke to Zagazola Makama, these key figures within the terrorist network abandoned their strongholds after weeks of sustained military offensives. These operations involved precision strikes and intelligence-led initiatives, which have severely degraded ISWAP’s operational capabilities. The surrendered commanders are currently at a secure military facility, undergoing profiling, intelligence debriefing, and other standard operational procedures.

While their identities remain undisclosed for operational reasons, security experts view this defection as a major blow to ISWAP’s command structure. It also highlights the increasing pressure exerted by troops across the operational theatre. Military sources attribute this success to the relentless pace of Operation HADIN KAI, which has intensified coordinated land and air operations. These operations have targeted terrorist enclaves, logistics bases, supply routes, and command centres throughout Borno and other parts of the North-East.

The sustained campaign has significantly restricted the terrorists’ movement, disrupted their supply lines, and weakened their capacity to orchestrate large-scale attacks. This has compelled many fighters and commanders to reconsider their involvement in the insurgency. This latest surrender follows closely after numerous other terrorists laid down their arms in various locations within the theatre. Military records indicate that in the past week alone, at least 76 terrorist fighters, along with some of their family members, voluntarily surrendered to troops involved in Operation HADIN KAI.

Security analysts believe the growing number of surrenders stems from the cumulative impact of persistent military pressure, deteriorating living conditions within terrorist camps, dwindling supplies, and increasing internal mistrust among insurgent ranks. Recent intelligence also points to rising divisions within ISWAP’s leadership, with disputes over operational decisions, diminishing resources, and command authority contributing to declining morale among fighters.

Military authorities affirm that their current operational strategy, which combines precision combat operations, intelligence-led targeting, air interdiction missions, and close collaboration among security and intelligence agencies, is steadily shrinking the operational space available to terrorist groups in the North-East. This recent development is expected to provide invaluable intelligence, potentially revealing critical information about ISWAP’s leadership structure, logistics network, recruitment channels, planned attacks, and the locations of remaining enclaves.

Operation HADIN KAI has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the current operational momentum until all terrorist elements are either neutralized or forced to surrender. The military emphasized that offensive operations will continue across all identified hideouts in the North-East, as troops remain focused on consolidating recent gains and intensifying pressure on remaining insurgent elements to further degrade their capabilities and restore lasting peace and security to the region.