Nigerian security forces have neutralised more than 13,500 terrorists and rescued over 9,800 victims of abduction since President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Idris said the rescued individuals, including women and children, had been reintegrated into their communities. He added that security agencies had also arrested more than 17,000 suspects during counter-terrorism operations.
“Our military and other security agencies are winning the war on terrorism. The results in the last two years of President Tinubu’s leadership are real and remarkable,” Idris said.
The minister noted that 11,200 hostages had been freed in Nigeria’s North-West, while 124,000 insurgents and their families surrendered, handing over around 11,000 weapons to authorities. He also said key terror leaders, including Ali Kachala, Boderi, and Halilu Sububu, had been neutralised in recent months.
In the South-East, violent attacks have reportedly declined by about 80 percent, while in the North-Central region, authorities have apprehended multiple suspects involved in communal violence, Idris added.
Citing a March report from the Global Terrorism Index, Idris said Nigeria’s terrorism rate had dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade.
The government has also intensified efforts to seize and destroy illegal arms, recovering over 5,000 military-grade rifles and dismantling 20 gun-running networks in recent months.
Idris highlighted ongoing legal proceedings against terrorism suspects, including Mahmud Muhammad Usman and Abubakar Abba, leaders of the Al-Qaeda-linked group Ansaru, arrested in July, and Khalid Al-Barnawi, accused of orchestrating the 2011 UN Building bombing in Abuja. Several suspects linked to the June 2022 Owo Catholic Church attack and the June 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue State are also facing trial.
“So far, 125 terrorists have been convicted, and many more are facing trial. The Federal Government will not relent until the remnants of these hounds of death are permanently removed,” Idris said.