ON Thursday, June 19, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said Nigerian armed forces eliminated 6,260 terrorists and arrested 14,138 terrorists and other criminals within the past two years across the country.
The Deputy Director of Defence Media Operations, Ibrahim Abu-Mawashi, a brigadier general, stated this while providing updates on the armed forces’ operations during a meeting with media executives in Abuja.
The meeting was held to give an account of two years of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, a general, and other service chiefs in office.
Abu-Mawashi said the troops rescued 5,365 kidnapped victims and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition in various operations within the period.
He said the troops also killed 103 criminals and apprehended 2,760 others.
Breaking down the successes recorded in each of the troubled geo-political zones, he said the troops of Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta region recovered N83 billion worth of stolen crude oil.
He said in the North-East, the troops of Operation Hadin Kai killed 1,246 Boko Haram members and ISWAP terrorists and arrested 2,467 others.
Additionally, the troops rescued 1,920 civilians and recovered 982 arms and 2,153 rounds of ammunition in the region.
In the North-West, Abu-Mawashi said the troops of Operation Fasan Yamma killed 1,374 bandits, including their top commanders, in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, and Sokoto states.
He explained that troops operating in the North-Central region neutralised 730 terrorists, bandits and violent extremists, and arrested 7,153 others.
They also rescued 1,510 civilians and recovered 1,065 weapons and 19,709 rounds of ammunition.
In the South-East, Abu-Mawashi said the troops of Operation UDO KA eliminated 440 terrorists and arrested 1,677 criminals. They also rescued 294 civilians, recovered 683 weapons and 21,300 rounds of ammunition.
Besides, they also killed 80 criminals, arrested 1,763 others, and rescued 89 kidnap victims in the region.
In his remarks, Director of Defence Information, Tukur Gusau, reaffirmed the military’s commitment to keeping the Nigerian public accurately and adequately informed about the activities, achievements, and sacrifices of the armed forces.
Meanwhile, The ICIR reports that the number of terrorists killed by the armed forces is about 35 per cent of the people who lost their lives to insecurity in the country within the period when compared with the data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED)
A total of 18,079 persons were killed and 8,043 were abducted between May 29, 2023, and May 2, 2025, according to ACLED.
President Bola Tinubu appointed the security chiefs on June 19, 2023.
Borno State topped the list of people killed with 4,710 persons, followed by Zamfara with 2,659, and Katsina with 2,010.
The states with the lowest number of deaths within the period are Gombe (7), Ekiti (17), and Kano (29)
The ICIR reported that over 600 people were killed by non-state actors across Nigeria, 45 days after Tinubu assumed office (between May 29 and July 13, 2023)
Killings in Nigeria by non-state actors have continued despite the efforts of the security forces to contain them.
Attacks by gunmen have persisted in states, including Benue and Plateau, with over 200 reportedly killed in Benue within a week.
A reporter with the ICIR
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