The Joint Military Task Force in the North-East has, in three months of operations, killed over 1,000 terrorists, including 57 commanders and leaders.

Abdulsalam Abubakar, the theatre commander of the Joint Task Force North-East Operation Hadin Kai, provided the figures during a briefing for journalists on the command’s significant progress in the counter-terrorism war on Tuesday in Maiduguri.

Mr Abdulsalam stated that the ongoing efforts have resulted in only a slight reduction in insurgent activity in the region. He, however, stressed the need for unity and patriotism across all sectors, especially the media, to tackle misinformation and fake news related to the military operations in the region.

The theatre commander stated further that the command had witnessed a decline in the number of terrorists that surrendered when compared with the 16,000 insurgents who surrendered in 2023.

Mr Abubakar, however, highlighted the importance of community engagement and intelligence gathering to disrupt terrorists’ networks.

The theatre commander further expressed the command’s determination to continue with its non-kinetic strategies to address the infiltration of the terrorists into civilian communities.

Mr Abubakar explained that greater attention and support would be given to education, infrastructure development, and community outreach to sustain peace. He assured Nigerians that the military remains committed to protecting lives and property. 

(NAN)