(Nigerian troops. Photo by Premuim Times)
Security forces deployed across Nigeria recorded notable operational successes in the first half of 2026, having k!lled 1,597 t3rrorists and insurgents and rescued 1,516 kidn@pped victims across a total of 14,000 security operations.
These figures emerged on Thursday at a joint security briefing held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Abuja, where representatives of the military alongside 14 other security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies presented their mid-year performance reports.
A military spokesperson, represented by an Air Force group captain, disclosed that troops executed 14,221 coordinated land, air and maritime operations between January and June, spanning all six geopolitical zones and targeting t3rrorism, b@nditry, kidn@pping, oil theft and other violent offences.
During these operations, security forces recovered 451 firearms, over 16,000 rounds of ammunition and more than 160 improvised explosive devices.
The spokesperson added that troops freed 261 people who had been held in t3rrorist enclaves, k!lled 412 fighters belonging to Boko Haram and ISWAP, apprehended 332 suspected t3rrorists, and recovered weapons, motorcycles and livestock taken from insurgents.
He noted that 132 insurgents surrendered voluntarily during the period as a result of sustained military pressure.
The operations covered conflict-prone areas including Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Kaduna, Kwara and Oyo states.
Nigeria continues to grapple with a range of security threats, from b@nditry, piracy and separatist violence to communal clashes, farmer-herder conflict and the long-running Boko Haram insurgency, which has persisted for over a decade and led to widespread deaths and displacement.
The crisis appears to be spreading southward, with more than 30 students and their teachers recently abducted in Oyo State. Despite ongoing military offensives, these armed groups have remained resilient.
On the policing front, the Nigeria Police Force said intelligence-driven operations led to the arrest of suspects tied to t3rrorism, kidn@pping and @rmed r0bbery, alongside the dismantling of criminal networks in several states.
A police spokesperson, a chief superintendent, said notable successes included the rescue of a woman and her twin children during a kidn@p operation and the arrest of suspected illegal arms dealers.
Operatives also intercepted ammunition meant for criminal groups along the Abuja-Kaduna corridor and broke up a railway vandalism syndicate, recovering stolen materials worth roughly N400 million.
Amid a wave of kidn@p-for-ransom cases and “one chance” robberies in Abuja, police described as a major breakthrough the dismantling of a suspected b@ndits’ hideout within the Federal Capital Territory and the arrest of members of a “one chance” robbery gang that had been under watch for months.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency announced the discovery of what it called the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory ever uncovered in Nigeria.
According to a report by an online news platform, the agency’s coordinated operations across Ogun and Lagos states led to the dismantling of the facility and the arrest of an alleged drug kingpin, three Mexican nationals and six Nigerian collaborators.
The agency said drugs and precursor chemicals worth about N480 billion were seized in the process.
Between January and May, the NDLEA said it arrested 9,769 suspects, broke up 144 criminal gangs, seized over 517 tonnes of illegal drugs and secured 1,778 convictions.
Other agencies also reported progress. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps said it shut down an illegal arms factory in Yobe State, sealed two steel companies over alleged infrastructure vandalism, and resolved more than 2,600 conflict-related cases nationwide.
The Nigeria Customs Service said it generated N3.35 trillion in revenue between January and May while intercepting illegal drugs worth N24.33 billion, along with undeclared foreign currency and endangered wildlife products.
The Federal Road Safety Corps reported a 25.65 per cent drop in road crashes compared to the same period last year, along with the recovery of 12 stolen vehicles and over 279,000 traffic-related arrests.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it secured 915 convictions for economic and financial crimes between January and April 2026, pointing to its continued anti-corruption push.
Its spokesperson named several high-profile former public officials among those convicted, including a former Minister of Power, a former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, a former Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, and a former senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East. An online news platform has previously reported on the allegations and convictions involving these individuals.
One of them was sentenced to eight years in prison for diverting about N868.4 million in public funds.
Another received a 75-year sentence over alleged money laundering involving public funds, while a third was jailed for 10 years following conviction for fr@ud amounting to N1.4 billion, and a fourth received a seven-year sentence for an alleged N240 million fr@ud case.
The Nigerian Correctional Service reported no prison breaks nationwide during the six-month period, despite foiling an attempt to smuggle an improvised explosive device into a custodial facility and recovering more than 1,100 prohibited items.
The Nigeria Immigration Service said it repatriated 567 foreign nationals, rescued 563 tr@fficking victims and expanded electronic border surveillance, while the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons said it rescued over 1,300 tr@fficking victims and secured 83 convictions.
The National Emergency Management Agency said it provided humanitarian support to more than 373,000 Nigerians affected by disasters, insurgency, b@nditry and communal violence during the period.
Officials said the various agencies would sustain intelligence-driven operations and inter-agency collaboration through the second half of the year, while urging citizens to keep providing timely information to support the fight against t3rrorism, b@nditry and other organised crimes.
