TROOPS STRIKE HARD: BOMBS, DRUGS, ARMS SEIZED IN MULTIPLE OFFENSIVES

The Nigerian Army has recorded sweeping victories across several theatres of operation, striking at terrorist strongholds, criminal hideouts, and illicit networks. From the North East to the South South, troops have smashed supply lines, disrupted logistics, and denied violent groups the freedom of action.

In the volatile North East, soldiers engaged ISWAP and JAS fighters in a string of fierce encounters. In Banki, troops of 152 Task Force Battalion, working with Hybrid Forces and Civilian JTF, foiled an attack on local communities, recovering boxes of ammunition, camouflage gear, and a bicycle used for mobility. On the Damboa–Gumsuri axis, combined forces ambushed a logistics convoy, seizing assault rifles, 36 hand grenades, bomb-making materials, bulk drugs, chemicals, and supplies ranging from mosquito nets to bicycles—all intended to sustain terrorist cells.

At Konduga, an ambush by 222 Battalion cut short another assault, while in Logomani, 3 Battalion intercepted a truckload of fertilizer bound for bomb factories. In Biu LGA, Special Forces seized rocket bombs, ammunition belts, and weapons after crushing an attempted incursion. Equally, troops at Forward Operating Base Azir overpowered yet another wave of attackers, seizing rifles, explosives, and a cache of intoxicants and hard drugs.

Elsewhere in Borno, 21 Special Armoured Brigade successfully neutralized two powerful IEDs planted along the Darel Jamel–Bula Yobe road, further denying insurgents the use of key routes.

The campaign extended well beyond the North East. In Katsina and Sokoto, Defence Special Operations Force units stormed terrorist enclaves, gunning down fighters and seizing motorcycles, weapons, and uniforms. In Kebbi, joint operations with the DSS led to the arrest of four terrorists and the confiscation of incriminating materials.

In Kaduna and Benue, troops rescued kidnapped victims, recovering rifles, magazines, and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Similar operations in Taraba tracked suspected kidnappers, leading to the recovery of stolen motorcycles and arms.

The South South was not left out. In Cross River, 146 and 130 Battalions apprehended a notorious cultist caught with a grisly trophy—a roasted human leg. Troops also neutralized his accomplices, recovering weapons and drug paraphernalia. In Rivers State, soldiers dismantled illegal oil bunkering sites, destroying crude oil and refined products worth hundreds of litres, while a joint Nigerian–Cameroonian operation along Bakassi waterways freed kidnapped passengers in a daring cross-border raid.

Across the week, Army operations resulted in the neutralization of scores of terrorists, cultists, and kidnappers. More than 20 suspects, including logistics suppliers and informants, are now in custody. Multiple hostages were freed, and vast caches of arms, explosives, drugs, and stolen goods are off the battlefield.

It was, by all measures, a week of decisive blows—an unmistakable signal that the Nigerian Army is tightening the noose on those who threaten peace and stability across the country