13,000 terrorists neutralised in one year – Tinubu

n n

Tinubu

n

President Bola Tinubu says more than 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised in the past year as part of intensified efforts to combat insecurity across the country.

n

The president stated this on Friday in his Democracy Day address to the nation.

n

He said Nigeria had moved beyond routine military training exercises with international partners to more effective precision-targetting operations against terrorist groups.

n

Tinubu recalled that a recent operation in Arege, Borno, successfully degraded a command centre of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

n

“We have moved from training with our allies, the United States, France and other European countries, to precision targetting.

n

“In Arege, Borno State, we degraded ISWAP’s command centre. Terror-related deaths are down by 81 per cent since 2015.

n

“Over 13,000 terrorists have been neutralised in the past year,” he said.

n

The president, however, said that the federal government remained committed to non-kinetic approaches to the fight against insurgency by providing opportunities for willing fighters to surrender and reintegrate into society.

n

He said more than 124,000 insurgents and their dependants had laid down their arms since 2023 through the federal government’s Operation Safe Corridor programme.

n

“But we also keep the door of surrender open.

n

“Over 124,000 fighters and dependants have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor,” he said.

n

The president warned bandits, kidnappers and sponsors of terrorism to embrace peace or face the full force of the law.

n

“To bandits, kidnappers and sponsors of terror: surrender or face the full force of the Nigerian state.

n

“These windows of surrender will not remain open forever. No mercy will be shown to those who trade in the blood of Nigerians,” he said.

n

Tinubu urged Nigerians to remain united in the face of security challenges, stressing that criminality should not be viewed through ethnic or regional lenses.

n

“At a time like this, let us not assign blame or point fingers. Crime has no ethnicity.

n

“We must stand united and be assured that the enemies of our nation shall soon be history.

n

“We will triumph over terror and continue to build a more prosperous nation,” he said. (NAN)

n n