The Defence Headquarters has said 6,260 terrorists were killed and 14,138 terrorists and other criminals were apprehended in joint military operations across the country in the past two years.

The Deputy Director of Defence Media Operations, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Abu-Mawashi, stated this while giving an overview of military operations over two years at the expanded parley with media executives on Thursday in Abuja.

The parley was held to mark the two years in office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa and other service chiefs.

Mr 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. Mr Abu-Mawashi said the troops also killed 103 criminals, apprehended 2,760 others and rescued 266 civilians from the kidnappers’ den.

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, the troops rescued 1,920 civilians and recovered 982 arms and 2,153 ammunition in the North-East.

In the North-West, Mr 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.

He added, “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.’’

The defence spokesman said troops on operations in the North Central 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 were recovered.

In the South-East, Mr Abu-Mawashi said the troops of operation UDO KA in the past two years eliminated 440 terrorists while 1,677 criminals were arrested.

According to him, the troops also rescued 294 civilians and recovered 683 weapons and 21,300 rounds of ammunition.

He added, “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.’’

In his remarks, the Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, said the event marked a significant milestone in their collective efforts to address and mitigate the complex security challenges confronting the nation.

Mr Gusau said the programme was conceived in alignment with one of the leadership philosophies of the CDS, which is “leading a people-centric armed force.”

He pledged the commitment of the military to ensuring that the Nigerian public remained accurately and adequately informed about the activities, achievements and sacrifices of the armed forces.

(NAN)