Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have killed Abu Fatima, a high-ranking Islamic State West Africa Province commander who featured on Nigeria’s most wanted terrorists list with a ₦100 million bounty.
The operation, conducted in Aleru village within Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, also neutralized two of Fatima’s key lieutenants.
The Nigerian Army officially confirmed the successful operation on its Facebook page earlier Friday. Intelligence sources revealed that Abu Fatima had coordinated numerous ISWAP attacks across northern Borno, particularly targeting the Baga axis. Though initially captured alive during the firefight, the terrorist leader reportedly succumbed to severe bleeding from sustained injuries.
The operation delivered a significant blow to ISWAP’s operations in the region, with troops recovering critical items including operational motorcycles, multiple AK-47 rifles, and bomb-making materials. For communities in Baga, Kukawa, Cross, Doro and surrounding areas – where Fatima’s group routinely executed fishermen and farmers – his elimination carries comparable significance to the 2021 death of Abubakar Shekau, the notorious former Boko Haram leader.
Military analysts describe this development as a major counterterrorism breakthrough, potentially disrupting ISWAP’s operational chain in the Lake Chad basin region. The successful neutralization follows intensified aerial and ground operations targeting terrorist strongholds along Borno’s border areas.
