Nationwide Offensive: Troops Neutralize Terrorists, Rescue 59 Hostages in Massive Sweep

Perhaps the most critical breakthrough of the week-long campaign occurred in the North-West under Operation FANSAN YAMMA. Operating across Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto states, troops rescued 28 abducted persons and neutralized four bandits. More importantly, intelligence-driven operations led to the arrest of an explosives courier and several suspected collaborators. Among those taken into custody were six suspected informants linked directly to the high-profile abduction of an immigration officer’s family, as well as staff and students of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda.

Security experts have long argued that banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria are sustained by a sophisticated local network of informants. By targeting these enablers, the military is effectively cutting off the operational oxygen that these gangs rely on to execute their daring raids. The arrest of logistical suppliers and espionage assets within local communities represents a major shift toward intelligence-led warfare.

Meanwhile, in the North-Central region, the kinetic pressure was sustained by Operation WHIRL STROKE. Troops in Kogi State compelled panic-stricken abductors to abandon 13 of their victims—comprising two men, five women, and six children. In separate but related encounters in Taraba and Benue states, two armed suspects were neutralized, and an arms courier was intercepted with an AK-47 rifle and several rounds of live ammunition.