The Defence Headquarters has said troops have neutralised a total of 74 terrorists, apprehended 130 suspects, and rescued 61 kidnapped hostages in various operations from March 5 to March 13.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Markus Kangye, made this known in a weekly report on ongoing military operations across the country on Friday in Abuja.
Kangye said the successful operations were jointly conducted by the land component of the Armed Forces, the team from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, security agencies, and hybrid forces.
According to him, the troops recovered 71 assorted weapons, comprising 32 AK-47 rifles, 15 locally fabricated guns, nine dane guns, three pump-action guns, two locally fabricated pistols, and 10 other assorted arms.
He added that troops also recovered 1,202 rounds of ammunition, including 1,133 assorted rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 69 live cartridges.
Kangye said a total of 143 terrorists, comprising five adult males, 66 adult females, and 72 children, surrendered to troops within the North-East theatre of operations during the week.
The defence spokesman said one of the terrorists surrendered with two AK-47 rifles, 33 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, and two magazines.
“The gallant men and women of the Armed Forces will continue to carry out their constitutional responsibilities of protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians in line with our constitutional roles, Rules of Engagement, and Code of Conduct for Internal Security Operations,” he said.