Air strike that killed Yellow Jambros
Fresh facts have emerged on how Yellow Jambros, a wanted terrorist and kidnapping kingpin, was eliminated by the Nigerian military last Wednesday.
Spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, Edward Gabkwet, an Air Commodore, had in a statement on Sunday, revealed that an airstrike by the Air Component of Operation Whirl Punch on Wednesday, 6 December 2023, in Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State, neutralised scores of terrorists, including Jambros.
Jambros was once quoted to have dared to “deal with Almighty God” should He come down to the earth to question his heinous activities.
The daredevil terrorist, PRNigeria further gathered, does not waste time in killing his kidnapped victims who refuse to pay the ransom.
Yellow Jambros and his cohorts have been responsible for several kidnappings and killings along the Abuja-Kaduna Road and in several communities in Kaduna, Niger, Katsina and Zamfara States.
In October 2020, a kidnapping kingpin known as Mohammed Sani, arrested by the Police in Zamfara State for murdering over 50 of his victims due to their inability to mobilise ransom, claimed that he worked for Jambros, who supplied him with fake military and police uniforms, guns and other weapons needed to execute his operations.
PRNigeria gathered that Jambros and the other terrorists bombarded by a NAF jet in Niger State met their waterloo while attempting to cross Jikudna River in Galadima Kogo District.
A defence intelligence source, with full knowledge of how the NAF raid was conducted, said that before their strike, Yellow Jambros and his cohorts were trailed from Zamfara into Niger State.
The military source said the airstrike was authorised after observing precautionary measures and identifying the target’s precise location to avoid unnecessary collateral damages.
“The air component successfully carried out the operation while the ground troops also succeeded in eliminating fleeing members from the other side of the river after the airstrike,” the source said.
One of the survivors who was forced to guide the bandits on tour of the route confirmed that the terrorists abducted members of their families as “insurance” to ensure safety while crossing the river.
“They abducted some of our members as a guarantee that if anything happened to them (bandits) while crossing the river, they would be summarily executed.
“While we don’t know their mission in the area, we were forced to convey them in batches, mostly between 40 to 50 armed men on each shuttle.
“Though I could not recognise if Kachala or Dogon Gide were in the previous batches we ferried across the river, there were indeed big people in the boats because of how they were guarding and protecting them during the shuttle.
“The last boat which carried Jambros had 56 passengers, which included foreigners from neighbouring countries due to their accent, but only 9 survived the attacks with various degrees of injuries after the airstrike.
“There were three bombs that were dropped, one on the boat and the other on both sides of the river at Lokon Baganta in Zumba, a border area between Kaduna and Niger State.
“Surprisingly, two top leaders of the groups attended the burial the following day after their recovery of the bodies from the river,” the source added.
The Nigerian military had confirmed that the terrorists rode on motorcycles along the Kaduna-Niger State border, precisely heading towards Kusasu in Shiroro LGA of Niger State. At Kusasu, other motorcycle-riding terrorists joined Jambros’ convoy, increasing the number of motorcycles which then headed to the bank of River Jikudna.
At the river bank, the terrorists and their motorcycles boarded a large motor-powered canoe in an attempt to cross and link up with other terrorists across the river.
At that point, the authorisation to undertake a strike was given. The precision strike was adjudged effective as it neutralised Jambros and his colleagues, destroyed their motorcycles and sank the boat.
By PRNigeria
