Troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria rescued 397 kidnapped victims and received the surrender of 57 terrorists and their family members in July as military operations intensified across the country.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, disclosed this on Friday while presenting the military’s operational achievements for the month.
He said troops deployed across various theatres of operation also killed 102 terrorists and other criminals, arrested 345 suspects, and recovered 59 firearms and 1,811 rounds of ammunition during the period.
According to Onoja, troops under Operation HADIN KAI sustained offensive operations against Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad across Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states.
He said the operations led to the killing of 54 terrorists, the arrest of 102 suspects, the rescue of 102 kidnapped victims and the surrender of 57 insurgents and their family members.
“The theatre also recorded a steady trend of surrenders occasioned by sustained offensive pressure on terrorists’ enclaves,” he said.
Onoja revealed that on July 1, a suspected terrorist who fled a Lake Chad camp surrendered to troops in Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State. On July 4, a woman and her child also surrendered at Yaganari village in Dikwa LGA.
He added that between July 4 and 17, seven family members of terrorists escaped from the Mandara Mountains and surrendered to troops in Gwoza LGA.
One of the major breakthroughs recorded during the month, according to him, was the surrender of a senior ISWAP finance operative on July 25 along the Ladari-Jegarawa-Tunokalia axis on the Gamboru-Wulgo supply route.
The suspect, identified as the chief finance officer of the ISWAP enclave at Jubillaram, surrendered with two children and handed over an AK-47 rifle, four magazines, 101 rounds of ammunition, a motorcycle and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Onoja said the latest surrender brought the number of terrorists and their family members who had voluntarily surrendered in recent weeks to 46, attributing the development to sustained land and air offensives that had weakened the insurgents.
He also disclosed that on July 28, three suspected terrorists surrendered in Gubio LGA after fleeing their camps due to sustained air strikes. During interrogation, they reportedly admitted they had been trained as gunboat operators and anti-aircraft gunners for operations around the Lake Chad region.
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The same day, troops arrested two suspected terrorist collaborators in Magumeri LGA after they allegedly confessed to working with the insurgents.
In Taraba State, Onoja said troops on July 29 rescued three civilians who had spent about 10 days in captivity after responding to reports of kidnappings in Bomanda village, Karim Lamido LGA.
“The victims were evacuated for medical treatment before being reunited with their families,” he said.
Summarising the military’s nationwide operations, Onoja said the Armed Forces remained committed to creating a secure environment for peace and economic development.
“Over 102 terrorists and criminals were neutralised this month, 345 suspects were arrested, 397 kidnapped victims were rescued, 57 insurgents surrendered, while 59 weapons and 1,811 rounds of ammunition were recovered,” he said.
He added that troops also sustained operations against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, recording successes that continued to disrupt the activities of oil thieves and other economic saboteurs.
