Chief Boko Haram Bomb Maker, Awana Gaidam, Killed By Own IED

In what can be described as a major breakthrough for the the Nigerian military operations in the North-East region and to also confirm that all is not well within the  Boko Haram terrorists camp, a chief bomb maker and high ranking terrorist, Awana Gaidam, has been killed by his own Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The 39-year-old chief bomb maker, apart from his high status in the command structure of the Boko Haram terrorists, was one of their capable hands involved in making of IEDs.

Awana was believed to be responsible for planting many IED 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’s general area.

According to report obtained by Zagazola Makama, a Counter-Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region from intelligence sources, which was made available to LEADERSHIP, the bomb struck his vehicle along Njumia and Arra in the Sambisa Forest on Monday, March 27, killing him instantly.

The sources said that Awana had planted bombs in strategic positions to fortify his camp within the Sambisa Forest but little did he know that he plotted it against himself, which blew him and shattered his body into pieces.

Since 2022,  Boko Haram and rival Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) had carried out more than 90 indiscriminate attacks in the North-East using IEDs.

The insurgents resorted to the use of IEDs as a  result of the increased and sustained pressure on them by the joint efforts of the Nigerian Army, Air Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai with support of the combined troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Niger, Cameroon and Chad in the LakeChad sub-region.

The death of Awana, therefore, represents a serious blow to operational capability of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād terrorist group.