The disclosure last week that the Nigerian troops on the frontline battling insurgents have eliminated no fewer than 109 terrorists within one week after six soldiers were killed in the battlefield is quite cheering.
The intensification of the military onslaught on the insurgents is indicative of the fact that the end of insurgency and general insecurity across the country is in sight.
In a press briefing, the Director of Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General Edward Buba, assured that the armed forces remain focused and will continue its counter-insurgency campaign against terrorists and their cohorts unleashing mayhem in Nigeria.
He said: “During the week under review, troops neutralised 109 and arrested 81 persons. Additionally, troops arrested six perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 43 kidnapped hostages.
“In the South-south, troops denied oil theft of the estimated sum of N618.7 million. Furthermore, troops recovered 21 assorted weapons and 124 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: Nine AK47 rifles, five fabricated rifles, four dane guns, three locally made pistols, seven magazines, 97 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 22 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, five live cartridges, three baofeng radios, four vehicles, six motorcycles and four mobile phones amongst other items.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 10 crude oil cooking ovens, 10 dugout pits, 12 boats, four storage tanks and 10 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include three pumping machines, 12 speedboats, 20 drums, two motorcycles, one mobile phone and four vehicles among others.
“Troops recovered 631,709 litres of stolen crude oil, 3,140 litres of illegally refined AGO and 2,250 litres of PMS. Troops are sustaining the winning ways of ongoing operational engagements. Accordingly, citizens will continue to witness the incremental effectiveness and efficiency of the armed forces.”
It is instructive that the troops deployed to various operations across the country had in 2024 eliminated 10,937 terrorists, apprehended 12,538 and rescued 7,063 hostages.
Giving a breakdown of the apparent 2024 security scorecard of the military penultimate Tuesday in Abuja, the defence spokesman said that troops significantly degraded the fighting capabilities of terrorists, recording 16,171 surrendered terrorist combatants and their families, during the course of the year.
Buba said that troops recovered 8,815 weapons, 228,004 rounds of ammunition and denied the oil thieves an estimated N68.4 billion. The recoveries are: 4,332 AK47 rifles, 1,244 locally fabricated guns; 838 dane guns; 259 pump action guns; 128,496 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, and 45,445 rounds of 7.62mm NATO.
Others are 5,103 cartridges, 2,131 assorted arms and 29,176 assorted ammunition.
In the North-east, the troops of Operation Hadin Kai neutralised 3,151 terrorists, arrested 2,503 suspects and rescued 1,605 kidnap hostages within the year.
The troops also recovered 1,802 AK47 rifles, 446 fabricated rifles; 438 dane guns; 378 assorted arms; 42,439 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo; 16,336 rounds of 7.62mm NATO and 12,429 assorted ammunition in the North-east.
In the North-central, the troops of Operations Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke neutralised 1,047 violent extremists, arrested 3,001 and rescued 1,782 kidnap hostages.
Also recovered were 549 AK47 rifles, 321 fabricated guns; 629 assorted arms; 19,577 rounds of 7.62mm special; 2,962 rounds of 7.62mm NATO and 4,084 assorted ammunition.
In the North-west, the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji, in the course of the year, neutralised 2,906 terrorists, arrested 1,826 suspects and rescued 2,616 kidnap hostages.
The troops recovered 1,450 AK47 rifles, 477 fabricated guns; 576 assorted arms; 31,999 rounds of 7.62mm special; 14,960 rounds of 7.62mm NATO and 6,564 assorted ammunition. Under Operation Whirl Stroke, the troops neutralised 742 terrorists, arrested 1,877 suspects and rescued 595 kidnap hostages.
The troops equally recovered 364 AK47 rifles, 302 assorted arms; 12,422 rounds of 7.62mm special; 5,991 rounds of 7.62mm NATO and 2,818 assorted ammunition.
In the South-south, the troops of Operation Delta Safe neutralised 78 terrorists, arrested 2,357 persons involved in crude oil theft and rescued 93 kidnap hostages.
The troops also blocked oil thieves from stealing 56.2 million litres of crude oil; 9.7 million litres of AGO; 95,595 litres of DPK and 156,527 litres of PMS.
Furthermore, troops recovered 538 assorted weapons; 13,198 assorted ammunition; destroyed 2,019 wooden boats and 2,612 illegal refining sites.
In the South-east, the troops of Operation UDO KA sustained the momentum in finding, flushing out and destroying IPOB/ESN terrorists at locations in which they hibernate.
According to the military high command, the troops intercepted and arrested several IPOB/ESN terrorists, collaborators; gun runners and informants; as well as neutralised 734 terrorists; arrested 974 suspects and rescued 372 kidnap hostages.
From the foregoing adumbration, it is evident that the war against insurgency, particularly in the North-east and the North-west, oil theft in the littoral Niger-Delta area, separatist agitation in the South-east and other forms criminality ravaging the country for over a decade, is gaining traction.
While we commend the military for this feat, it is expedient to caution against the recurrent strikes on soft targets which have resulted in the killing of dozens of innocent and defenceless civilians. Within just one year, over 100 law-abiding citizens are reported to have been “mistakenly” killed during attacks on terrorists.
The December 3, 2023 bombing in Tudun Biri, Igabi local government area of Kaduna state, the lethal airstrikes in Silame local government area of Sokoto state on December 25, 2024, and last Sunday’s air interdiction in Zamfara state are despicable.
These unfortunate mishaps tend to undermine the military’s successes as well as its capabilities and sophistication in the execution of internal warfare and must be avoided.