NATIONWIDE OPERATIONS: Troops Neutralise 201 Terrorists, Arrest 284 in One Month
The Defence Headquarters has said troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria neutralised 201 terrorists and arrested 284 suspects in coordinated operations conducted across the country in April.
The military also disclosed that 188 kidnapped civilians were rescued during the period, as troops intensified offensives against insurgents, bandits, and other criminal elements across all operational theatres.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, made this known on Thursday during a monthly operational briefing in Abuja, where he outlined the scale and impact of ongoing military engagements nationwide.
He said the operations, carried out across the seven active theatres, involved precision air strikes, ground assaults, ambushes, and clearance missions that led to the destruction of terrorist enclaves, logistics bases, and illegal armament facilities.
According to him, troops of Operation HADIN KAI in the North-East recorded significant successes against Boko Haram and ISWAP elements, neutralising scores of fighters and repelling coordinated attacks.
Onoja highlighted a major engagement in Kukareta, Yobe State, where troops foiled a large-scale terrorist assault, killing 21 insurgents and recovering weapons including AK-47 rifles, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenade tubes.
He added that sustained air and ground offensives in the Timbuktu axis and Bulabulin Forest further degraded terrorist capabilities, with several fighters eliminated and their enclaves destroyed.
In the North-West, he said troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA rescued dozens of kidnapped victims, including worshippers abducted from a church in Kaduna State, while also dismantling criminal camps and intercepting suspects transporting improvised explosive device materials.
The Defence spokesman said operations in the North-Central under SAVANNAH SHIELD, WHIRL STROKE, and ENDURING PEACE also yielded results, with terrorists neutralised, victims rescued, and criminal hideouts destroyed across Niger, Benue, Plateau, and Kogi states.
He further disclosed that troops in the South-South under Operation DELTA SAFE intensified the fight against crude oil theft, leading to the arrest of suspects, destruction of illegal refining sites, and recovery of over 100,000 litres of stolen petroleum products.
In the South-East, Onoja said troops sustained pressure on IPOB/ESN elements, arresting key operatives, dismantling their camps, and recovering weapons during targeted operations, including a major raid on an enclave in Enugu State.
Beyond combat operations, he said the Armed Forces also strengthened civil-military cooperation through community engagements, peace-building initiatives, and support for farming activities in conflict-affected areas.
He stressed that such non-kinetic efforts were essential to consolidating security gains and fostering trust between the military and local communities.
“The Armed Forces remain fully committed to their constitutional mandate of defending the sovereignty of the nation and protecting lives and property,” he said.
Onoja urged Nigerians to continue supporting security agencies with timely and credible intelligence, while also calling on the media to promote responsible reporting that supports national security.
He added that troops would sustain the current operational tempo to ensure that terrorist and criminal groups are decisively defeated across the country.
By TimesNG