The Nigerian Army has announced the rescue of 17 kidnapped victims and the arrest of 20 suspects during a series of coordinated operations conducted across multiple regions of the country over the past 48 hours.
Okay News reports that the military operations, aimed at eliminating terrorism, banditry, and oil theft, were carried out in the North-East, North-West, North-Central, and South-South zones, with troops neutralising two terrorists in separate encounters.
According to a statement posted on the Army’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, troops of the 192 Battalion, operating alongside the Civilian Joint Task Force, engaged insurgents linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah in Hudugum Village, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, killing two terrorists in an intense firefight.
The statement also revealed that three insurgents — identified as Fannami Ari (alias Abu Dujana), Hussaini Hassan Modu (alias Abu Yusuf), and another trainee — surrendered to troops in Kukawa and Damboa Local Government Areas after expressing dissatisfaction with their leaders and poor living conditions within the terrorist enclaves.
In the North-West region, troops of 1 Brigade successfully foiled two kidnap attempts in Zamfara State, rescuing 11 victims during separate operations along the Magami–Jan Gemi and Kucheri–Bilbis routes.
“The rescued victims have since been reunited with their families, while troops continue aggressive patrols and clearance operations to deny terrorists freedom of movement and disrupt their logistics corridors,” the Army said.
In the North-Central zone, troops under Operations Enduring Peace and Whirl Stroke executed synchronized clearance raids across Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States, resulting in the arrest of 15 suspects linked to cultism, cattle rustling, and communal clashes. Four kidnapped victims were also rescued during the missions.
Similarly, troops in the South-South region dismantled two illegal oil-refining sites at Biseni in Bayelsa State, and recovered 62 sacks of stolen crude oil — estimated at more than 3,000 litres — in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
“The Nigerian Army remains resolute and unrelenting in pursuing all adversaries of the state and safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria,” the statement affirmed.
Earlier in October, troops had rescued 21 kidnap victims, including four Chinese nationals, in coordinated operations across Kwara and Kogi States, highlighting the Army’s continued nationwide counter-crime campaign.
