The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), on Thursday, said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) and other security agencies have resolved to destroy terrorists and dismantle their military capabilities in order to end insurgency activities for citizens to be safe. 

Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed this at the bi-weekly Media briefing of Defence Correspondents in Abuja’s ongoing Military Operations  between April and June this year in various theatres of operations across the six geo-political zones of the country against insurgency activities 

He said, “Accordingly, troops are actively fighting in different forms and retain operational flexibility which gives us the ability to respond to different events and to project forces according to strategic needs.

“Indeed, the military has greatly degraded the terrorists, even though they are still present in the theatres of operation. It would take time and effort to completely destroy these terrorists, particularly as counter-insurgency is akin to a marathon, not a sprint. 

“It is safe to say that the terrorist have prioritised their military capability over everything else. This is because as our forces advance and clear areas in which these terrorists hibernate, we continue to recover weapons, explosives and IEDs which are indicative of the priorities of the terrorists. Nevertheless, we continue to wipe out the terrorists through synchronised ground and air operations.”

He explained that “during the second quarter of this year, troops neutralized 2,245 terrorists, arrested 3,682 suspected terrorists and other criminal elements as well as rescued 1,993 kidnapped hostages.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 2,783 weapons, 64,547 ammunitions and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum over N10 bn (N10,533,131,470.00) only.

“Breakdown for the period includes and is not limited to the following: 1,169 AK47 rifles, 36,273 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 14,764 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 713 assorted arms and 9,850 assorted ammo.

“Others are 9,225,149 litres of stolen crude oil, 2,874,916 litres of illegally refined AGO, 29,900 litres of DPK and 31,380 litres of PMS amongst other items.

“Troops operations are continually assessed in order to make adjustments in our actions, thereby amending our operations to increasingly ensure we minimize civilian casualties. Our operations are progressing according to plan e en as we abide International laws governing armed conflict.”

While assuring that the military would do everything within the bounds of the law to make the nation safe for citizens, Gen Buba said that the military would keep up with the fighting spirit and maintain stamina in the frontlines, stressing  “Our pride is to risk our life’s, to safe the life’s of our citizens, this is what we do to secure our country.”

This came just as he said that the military high command has made adequate security for farmers to enable them to engage in full farming activities during this rainy season in order to have a bumper harvest so as to address the current food crisis in the country 

Speaking on the operational activities, he said that the troops of” “JOINT TASK FORCE OPERATION HADIN KAI (NORTH EAST) deep in terrorist enclaves in Sambisa Forest and the Tumbuns of the Lake Chad Region. The operations targeted terrorist commanders and leaders’ strongholds.

According to him, “The operations denied the terrorist the ability to carry out major offensive as well as diminished the terrorist offensive capability. Accordingly, terrorists were limited to low-level skirmishes and attacks, which were mostly on soft targets.

“Troops of Operation HADIN KAI during the second quarter of the year, neutralised 857 terrorists, arrested 913 suspects and rescued 594 kidnapped hostages. Additionally, troops recorded a total of 4,582 surrendered BH/ISWAP terrorists combatants and their families.

“Troops dismantled the terrorist military capabilities by recovering 559 AK47 rifles, 151 fabricated rifles, 181 dane guns, 157 assorted arms, 13,493 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 5,409 rounds of 7.62mm NATO and 4,921 assorted ammunition

He added that the  air component of Operation HADIN KAI in the second quarter of the year conducted air interdictions to terrorist enclaves at Mandara mountain, Maradun, Southern Tumbun Fulani and several other locations in the North East during which Several terrorist enclaves and hideouts were destroyed killing terrorist leaders, commanders and foot soldiers as well as destroying their logistics dumps

He further explained that the troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN in the  North Central Zone conducted several offensive operations such as raids and fighting patrols during the second quarter of the year. 

According to him, “The operations yielded significant successes including recovery of arms and ammunitions as well as arrest of violent extremists including kidnappers, gunrunners, armed robbers, murderers, imposters as well as cattle rustlers.

“Additionally, troops in fierce contact with violent extremists/terrorists neutralized several terrorists and rescued several kidnapped hostages. The offensive posture of troops has secured the release of several kidnapped hostages and significantly curtailed the activities of terrorists and violent extremists operating in the area. 

“Overall, troops of  Operation SAFE HAVEN neutralized 130 terrorist violent extremists, arrested 544  suspects and rescued 277 kidnap hostages.  Troops equally recovered 39 AK47 rifles, 37 fabricated guns, 126 assorted arms, 3,852 rounds of 7.62mm special, 827 rounds of 7.62mm NATO and 499 assorted ammunitions.”

He added that the Troops of Operation WHIRL STROKE conducted operations to combat security threats posed by banditry, kidnapping, gunrunning, and herders/farmers clashes. The operations significantly mitigated security challenges in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba States. 

According to him, “The key threats faced by troops in the region include banditry by various militia groups, Farmers/herders clashes between herder militias and indigenes, kidnapping for ransom by suspected herder militia, gunrunning activities by suspected indigenes of Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States. 

“However, troops onslaught largely degraded the potency of bandit groups, even though they remain present in the area. Furthermore, troops anticipate communal clashes occasioned by the rainy season. The rainy season usually sets in communal clashes and farmers/herders conflicts which is as a result of increased encroachment on farmlands. 

“Based on the foregoing, troops with the support of sister services have emplaced measures to minimise these communal clashes. Additionally, troops will continue to optimize operations against terrorist and their cohorts. 

“Several operations to violent extremist strongholds recorded significant achievements during the second quarter of the year. Overall, troops of  Operation WHIRL STROKE neutralized 138 terrorists,  arrested 377 suspects and rescued 204 kidnapped hostages”

He added that during the period under review, OP HADARIN DAJI’s area of responsibility witnessed major security threats such as kidnap for ransom, attacks on remote communities and communal clashes. Troops sustained offensive operations to destroy and disrupt terrorists across the NW region. 

According to him, “Troops activities instigated rival clash among the terrorist groups leading to the death of several terrorist commanders in battle for supremacy of rival groups. The synergy between the security agencies and intelligence agencies greatly assisted in optimizing operational exploits against terrorists in the North West Zone.

He further explained that the Troops of Operation UDO KA in the South-East conducted rigorous clearance operations across the Zone theatre to frustrate the activities of the IPOB/ESN terror group and maintain peace in the region. 

According to him, “The operations curtailed the activities IPOB/ESN, being the major cause of insecurity in the SE Region. The other security threats in the Region are illegal bunkering/oil theft activities, weapon/ammunition trafficking, kidnap for ransom, cultism, assassinations and communal clashes. 

“Overall, troops of Op UDO KA neutralized 180 terrorists, arrested 354 suspects and rescued 149 kidnap hostages. Troops also recovered 28 AK47 rifles, 44 pump action guns, 3,456 rounds of 7.62mm special, 1,402 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 801 live cartridges and 324 assorted ammunitions.