The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said troops killed 6,260 terrorists while 14,138 terrorists and other criminals were apprehended in joint military operations across the country in the past two years.
Deputy Director Defence Media Operations, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Abu-Mawashi, revealed this Thursday while giving an overview of military operations in two years, at the expanded parley with media executives in Abuja.
The parley was held to mark the two years in office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt.-General Christopher Musa, and other service chiefs.
Abu-Mawashi said the troops of the armed forces also rescued 5,365 kidnap victims and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition in different operations within the period.
Giving details of military successes in each of the regions, he said the troops of Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta region recovered N83 billion worth of stolen crude oil.
According to him, the troops also killed 103 criminals, apprehended 2,760 others and rescued 266 civilians from the kidnappers’ den.
…North-east, North-west, and N/central
In the North-east, he said the troops of Operation Hadin Kai intensified operations resulting in the killing of 1,246 Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, while 2,467 of them were arrested within the period.
According to him, troops rescued 1,920 civilians, recovered 982 arms and 2,153 ammunition in the North-east.
In the North-west, the defence chief said the troops of Operation Fasan Yamma killed 1,374 bandits, including their top commanders in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto states.
“They also arrested 2,160 bandits and rescued 3,288 hostages from bandits’ enclaves.
“The arms and ammunition recovered are 947 weapons and 25,802 rounds, respectively,” he added.
The defence spokesperson said troops on operations in the North-central, killed 730 terrorists, bandits and violent extremists, and arrested 7,153 violent extremists.
He said a total of 1,510 civilians were rescued, while 1,065 weapons and 19,709 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
…South-east, South-west
In the South-east, Abu-Mawashi said the troops of operation UDO KA had, within the period under review, eliminated 440 terrorists while 1,677 criminals were arrested.
According to him, the troops rescued 294 civilians and recovered 683 weapons and 21,300 rounds of ammunition.
“Finally, Joint Task Force South-west killed 80 criminals and arrested 1,763 others, while they rescued 89 kidnap victims.
“Troops recovered 143 weapons, and 177,904 rounds of ammunition,” he added.
…DDI speaks further
In his remarks, the Director Defence Information, Brigadier-General Tukur Gusau, said the event marked a significant milestone in their collective efforts to address and mitigate the complex security challenges confronting the nation.
Gusau said the programme was conceived in alignment with one of the leadership philosophies of the CDS, which is “leading a people-centric armed forces”.
He pledged the commitment of the military to ensuring that the Nigerian public remains accurately and adequately informed about the activities, achievements and sacrifices of the armed forces. (NAN)