From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said on Thursday that its counter-insurgency and other security operations conducted in the last two years led to the killing of 6,260 terrorists, while 14,138 terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and other criminals were apprehended in joint military operations conducted across the country.
The troops also rescued 5,365 kidnapped victims and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition in different operations within the period under review.
Deputy Director Defence Media Operations, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Abu-Mawashi, made this known at a briefing with media executives held as part of activities to mark the two years in office of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, and other service chiefs.
Gen. Abu-Mawashi, while giving an update of military successes in each of the regions, said the troops of Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta region recovered N83 billion worth of stolen crude oil.
He also said the troops killed 103 criminals, apprehended 2,760 others, and rescued 266 civilians from kidnappers’ dens.
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.
He further stated that the troops rescued 1,920 civilians, recovered 982 arms, and 2,153 rounds of ammunition in the North East.
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.
“They also arrested 2,160 bandits and rescued 3,288 hostages from bandit enclaves.
“The arms and ammunition recovered are 947 weapons and 25,802 rounds, respectively,” he said.
In the North Central, he said troops on operations killed 730 terrorists, bandits, and violent extremists, and arrested 7,153 violent extremists.
He said that a total of 1,510 civilians were rescued, while 1,065 weapons and 19,709 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
In the South East, Abu-Mawashi said the troops of Operation UDO KA had in the past two years eliminated 440 terrorists while 1,677 criminals were arrested.
He said the troops also 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 said.
Earlier in his address at the briefing, the Director Defence Information, Brigadier-General Tukur Gusau, while noting that the event marked a significant milestone in their collective efforts to address and mitigate the complex security challenges confronting the nation, said the programme was conceived in alignment with one of the leadership philosophies of the CDS, which is “leading a people-centric armed forces.”