By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Headquarters Theatre Command, Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, JTF NW OPFY, has launched _Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV_, a simultaneous and deliberate offensive designed to intensify pressure on terrorist and armed criminal elements across the North West.
This was contained in a statement signed by Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, Media Information Officer, Joint Task Force (North West) Operation FANSAN YAMMA, on 13 August 2026.
According to the statement, the operation brings coordinated ground and air actions to bear on identified threats across North Western States.
The objective is to degrade terrorist capabilities, disrupt their movements and logistics, and deny them the opportunity to establish footholds within Nigerian communities.
The Theatre said the launch of _CLEAN SWEEP IV_ has already translated into intensified activities.
In Katsina State, troops of Sector 2 on 12 August 2026 conducted a clearance operation around suspected terrorist enclaves along Dutsinma Local Government Area. The operation mounted significant pressure on the terrorists, compelling them to abandon their positions and withdraw into surrounding bushes. Clearance operations are ongoing in the general area.
In Zamfara State, following credible intelligence on the movement and convergence of terrorists on motorcycles in Anka Local Government Area, the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA executed precision strikes, neutralizing scores of terrorists. Survivors were said to have abandoned their motorcycles and fled into surrounding bushes before the Air assets acquired and engaged the rest.
A major component of _CLEAN SWEEP IV_ is the deliberate effort to contain and dismantle the Lakurawa terrorist network across the Theatre.
The operation is designed to prevent the infiltration and reinforcement of Lakurawa elements into Nigeria while denying the group the opportunity to exploit border areas as corridors for movement, logistics and the establishment of enclaves.
The operation also seeks to block terrorist activities around the River Niger axis and Kainji Lake National Park, thereby preventing them from using the area as a platform for projecting violence into adjoining communities and other parts of the North West.
The Theatre Command said the launch of _CLEAN SWEEP IV_ underscores its proactive and sustained posture in confronting evolving terrorist threats across the region.
It reaffirmed its resolve to protect civilian communities, secure Nigeria’s territorial integrity, and deny terrorist elements the opportunity to regroup, reinforce or establish operational footholds.
