76 ISWAP commanders surrender, as army intensifies operations

In a major blow to insurgency in the country’s Northeast, seventy-six commanders of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have surrendered to the Nigerian military.

The mass surrender was confirmed in a statement on Monday by Captain Mohammed Goni, the spokesperson for the military’s joint task force, Operation Hadin Kai.

Captain Goni attributed the capitulation of the high-ranking insurgents to the relentless air and ground offensives currently being executed against terrorist strongholds in the region.

He noted that sustained military pressure, heavily reinforced by intelligence-driven operations, forced the fighters to abandon their camps and yield to troops.

According to the statement, the group of surrendered insurgents includes several high-level ISWAP figures. Along with the commanders, a number of regular fighters and their families also turned themselves in.

“They are currently in a secure location undergoing profiling, debriefing, and other procedures in line with established operational protocols,” the statement read.

Military authorities emphasized that this development highlights the success of ongoing operations aimed at dismantling terrorist networks, crippling their command and logistics structures, and restricting their movement.

Officials added that the mass surrender is a clear indicator of the dwindling operational strength and plummeting morale within the terrorist group.