By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) sustained a high tempo of kinetic and non-kinetic operations across all theatres of operations throughout October 2026, repelling terrorist attacks, rescuing over 150 abducted citizens and dismantling logistics and arms trafficking networks.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, when briefing Defence correspondent on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff and other Service Chiefs at the monthly press briefing on ongoing military operations, said the momentum was a continuation of preceding months’ campaigns against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, oil theft and other criminality.
According to him, between September 30 and October 30, 2026, troops supported by the Air Component and working with other security agencies rescued over 150 abducted persons, neutralised scores of terrorists, received the surrender of more than 50 terrorist fight
ers and family members, and dismantled several criminal networks.
Among the defining operations were the neutralisation of a senior ISWAP leader in Owo Forest, Ondo State, on October 2, the repulsion of an ISWAP assault on Kukawa town in Borno between October 6 and 7, the rescue of 20 abducted prospective corps members in Imo State and the repelling of a large Lakurawa attack in Maiyama LGA of Kebbi State, both on October 7. Troops also rescued 29 farmers in Mariga on October 15 and 27 villagers at Gamji on October 16.
In the North East, troops of Operation HADIN KAI sustained operations across Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States. During the month, troops neutralised 162 terrorists, rescued 39 kidnap victims, arrested 98 suspects, while 68 terrorists surrendered.
On October 1, troops conducted coordinated operations in Gombi LGA, Adamawa, neutralising five terrorists and recovering weapons. On the night of October 6, ISWAP terrorists attempted to infiltrate Kukawa town in Borno. Troops, supported by the Air Component, countered the attack, neutralising 25 terrorists and recovering rifles, magazines and explosives.
Clearance operations between October 16 and 18 in Guzamala LGA yielded eight AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns and ammunition. On October 28, troops ambushed terrorists at Kassasewa in Mafa LGA and recovered RPG bombs and ammunition.
Troops also rescued several escapees, including three held for seven years in Gwoza LGA, and arrested a kidnapper attempting to collect N7 million ransom at Azir Village in Damboa.
More than 50 fighters and family members surrendered in Bama, Dikwa, Gwoza, Konduga, Mafa and Monguno LGAs, citing hunger and factional clashes. Logistics suppliers, informants and collaborators were also arrested in Tarmuwa, Kanama, Benisheikh, Damboa, Gubio and Monguno.
In the North West, troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA sustained offensive operations across Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States, neutralising 18 terrorists, rescuing 167 kidnap victims and arresting 10 suspects.
On October 7, troops countered a large group of Lakurawa terrorists on over 100 motorcycles in Maiyama LGA, Kebbi, neutralising 10 of them and recovering a machine gun and communication devices.
Rescues included 18 victims at Unguwan Hudu Village in Bakori LGA, Katsina, on October 1, and 27 villagers at Gamji Community in Sabuwa LGA on October 16. Between October 16 and 17, troops tracked kidnappers to Falgore Forest, Kano, neutralised two and recovered N10 million suspected ransom.
Troops of Operation SAVANNAH SHIELD operating in Kwara and Niger States neutralised three terrorists, rescued 29 victims and arrested three suspects. On October 15, troops rescued 29 farmers at Magaji Mai Kadarko Village in Mariga LGA, Niger State.
Troops of Operation ENDURING PEACE in Kaduna and Plateau neutralised six criminals, rescued 13 victims and arrested 84 suspects, including an arms fabricator at Heipang.
Troops of Operation WHIRL STROKE in Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa and Taraba neutralised 24 terrorists, rescued 68 victims and arrested 71 suspects. On October 16, troops ambushed kidnappers moving victims from Kwara into Kogi, rescuing five victims, and on October 19 rescued 11 passengers from a commercial bus attacked along Ayere-Kabba Road in Kogi.
In the South-South, troops of Operation DELTA SAFE sustained operations against oil theft and kidnapping across Cross River, Edo and Rivers States, neutralising two criminals, arresting 45, dismantling 49 illegal refining sites and recovering 756,837 litres of petroleum products.
On October 1, troops rescued personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency mobbed at Ekureku Community, Cross River, recovering five FN rifles and two pistols.
In the South East, troops of Operation UDO KA sustained operations across Abia, Anambra and Imo States, neutralising two terrorists, arresting 22 criminals and rescuing 33 civilians.
On October 1, troops responded after gunmen abducted 20 persons, including prospective NYSC members, on the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway. Following pressure, the victims were rescued at Ndegwu Community on October 7. On October 16, five members of the syndicate were arrested in Irete/Orogwe area of Owerri West LGA with rifles and ammunition.
On October 2, a combined team neutralised several terrorists in Owo Forest, Ondo State, including a senior ISWAP leader, Abdussamad Ohida, deputy to the ISWAP leader in Central Nigeria, who had assumed leadership after the leader’s arrest in 2023. The military said he was planning large-scale attacks during the festive season.
The briefing also highlighted civil-military activities. The Nigerian Army held stakeholders’ forums and medical outreaches in Kwara State in September, while the Nigerian Navy undertook community projects including reconstruction of Okwu Owerre Community Hall in Imo, solar boreholes in Lagos and Osun, and a community hall in Edo to be commissioned on October 31.
The Nigerian Air Force hosted Amnesty International on civilian harm mitigation, revised its Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan, and commissioned health clinics, boreholes and school projects in Niger, Nasarawa, Zamfara and Ogun States.
The Defence Headquarters said the operations indicate the adversary is under pressure from multiple fronts, with mounting surrenders and disrupted supply routes eroding terrorist cohesion.
