125,517 terrorists, families surrender to troops

No fewer than 125,517 terrorists and their families have so far surrendered to troops in the frontline.

This disclosure was made by the defense headquarters headed by the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa.

The CDS led a press briefing attended by all heads of security agencies in the country.

Speaking for Defense Headquarters, the Chief of Defense Operations, Maj. Gen Emeka Onumajuru said a total of 125, 517 terrorists and their families have so far surrendered to troops.

According to Onumajuru, “There has also been the relocation of IDPs, over 60,000 IDPs in conjunction with the Borno State governments, thereby decongesting some of the IDP camps.

“Our adversaries, about 125,517 terrorists, and their families have so far surrendered. And also, those in war work attunement have been successfully moved to Operation Safe Corridor Gombe as part of our non-kinetic lines of operations.”

Onumajuru added, “Statistics on major roads that have been reopened, on markets that have been reopened, also shows that the troops in the northwest have done well and economic activities have increased.

“The farming planting session was also good. We are working towards ensuring that the harvest is also as successful as planting. So, Borno in the northeast remains a success.

Onumajuru stated that the security situation in the North Central is stable.

He said, “Going down to other theatres in the north central is also stable, less the challenges we’ll have in the Shiroro areas in Niger state and also some other areas within the same state. However, we are tackling the situations as part of the overall challenges we’ll have in the northwest.

“The rest of the north central is relatively stable. Operations of militia groups in Benue and Nasarawa states have been reduced. Likewise, the speed of kidnapping in these general areas.

“And our operations in this area were based on key four pillars. First was offensive operations which were conducted to clear all major infractions along key pipelines, particularly the Trans-Niger pipeline and other areas as identified by the NNPC.

“We’ve also been able to carry out deterrent operations, having cleared those areas, and ensure that oil thieves and militants do not have access to pipeline routes.”

He also stated that the security situation in the Southeast is stable, and the sit-at-home orders have been contained.