…Rescues 5,365 Civilians 

…COAS Hails 542 New Military Retirees over Selfless Service

By David Torough, Abuja

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said 6,260 terrorists have been killed while 14,138 terrorists and other criminals were apprehended in joint military operations across the country in the past two years.

The Deputy Director Defence Media Operations, Brig.

-Gen. Ibrahim Abu-Mawashi, revealed this while giving an overview of military operations in two years, at the Expanded Parley with Media Executives yesterday in Abuja.

The parley was being held to mark the two years in office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen.

Christopher Musa and other service chiefs.

Abu-Mawashi said the troops of the armed forces also rescued 5,365 kidnapped 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 region, he said the troops of Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta region recovered N83 billion worth of stolen crude oil.

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, recovered 982 arms and 2,153 ammunition in the Northeast.

In the North West, Abu-Mawashi said the troops of Operation Fasan Yamma killed 1,374 bandits, including their top commanders in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto State.

“They also arrested 2,160 bandits and rescued 3,288 hostages from bandits enclaves.

“The arms and ammunition recovered are 947 weapons and 25,802 rounds, respectively,” he added.

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, Abu-Mawashi said the troops of operation UDO KA had 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.

“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,” he added.

In his remarks, the Director 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.

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

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

COAS Hails 542 New Military Retirees over Selfless Service

The Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, on Thursday hailed the sacrifices and efforts of 542 military personnel who retired from active service.

Oluyede made the commendation at the passing out event of Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC) Course 1/2025 in Lagos.

Oluyede was represented by the Commander, Training and Doctrine Command, Maj.-Gen. Kevin Aligbe.

The COAS said that the occasion was a tribute to the courage, sacrifice, discipline, resilience, selflessness and unwavering commitment of the retirees to the service of the country.

“As you transit from the battlefield to civil life, I pray you will enjoy your post-service life and apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired.

“You will from now on take full charge of your time as planners and executors of your personal daily activities.

“This may sound exciting and promising but be aware that you need to properly manage your new vocations in order to be successful,” he said.

Oluyede further urged them to maintain their honour before the civil populace, adding that the society would expect a high ethical standard and discipline from them.

“You will also have to prove in your social and business interactions that you passed through a highly disciplined system.

“I believe you are all capable of excelling in your future endeavours and will positively influence your environment by contributing to the security and development of your various communities,” he said.

According to him, communities will look up to them to support safety and security initiatives as well as agencies to tackle community-based crimes and security challenges.

“Please, be an advocate of peace and make yourselves available in providing such assistance within the ambit of the law,” Oluyede said.

He, however, reminded them that post-service life has its peculiar pitfalls and challenges at individual level as such there was the need for extra care.

“Some of these challenges you might encounter include; inadequate resources, misuse of retirement benefits, negative influences and deceit from fraudulent persons.

“Others are poor management of physical and mental health as well as life devoid of regimentation and uniform-induced immunity to mention but a few.

“It is therefore unwise to embark on an extravagant lifestyle that is above your means or engage in non-familiar business ventures,” he said.

The COAS also said the essence of the training was to expose them to several vocational opportunities and management skills to have a meaningful life in retirement.

“On this wise, I enjoin you to employ the experience and skills you have acquired for a productive economic life as you reintegrate into the society.

“Continue to inspire, continue to lead and never forget that you are, and will always remain, heroes of our land,” he said.

He thanked NAFRC and urged them to sustain the high quality human resource development training  for retiring personnel and the society at large.

“On our part, the Armed Forces leadership will continue to ensure that personnel welfare at all levels are given prime attention in line with our various command philosophies.

“We will also sustain support for the advancement of this centre with a view to transforming it into an international centre of excellence for vocational training,” he said.

The COAS commended the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa for his exceptional leadership and guidance.

“I want to thank President Bola Tinubu for his support towards capacity development of the Armed Forces and the welfare for serving and retired personnel,’’ he said. 

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