Troops neutralised 1,106 JAS/ISWAP terrorists in Borno — Former OPHK Commander, Abdulsalam

Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, the immediate past Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, has revealed that troops neutralised more than 1,106 JAS/ISWAP terrorists during his tenure in Borno State.

Abubakar disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement and media parley held ahead of the formal handing over of command to Major General Ibikunle Ajose in Maiduguri.

He said troops also recovered more than 475 assorted weapons and 24,409 rounds of ammunition, while 295 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were discovered and detonated.

According to him, security forces intercepted more than N300 million linked to terrorist financiers and arrested 758 terrorist logistics collaborators.

Abubakar further disclosed that 969 JAS/ISWAP fighters and their family members surrendered within the last year, while 638 civilians were rescued from terrorist enclaves.

He said military operations facilitated the return of more than 7,000 displaced families to their ancestral communities, with previously abandoned communities reoccupied across Borno State.

The former Theatre Commander also said more than 3,000 Nigerians were repatriated from Cameroon during the period.

Abubakar said OPHK was strengthened through the operationalisation of Sector 4, the induction of Nigerian Army Aviation helicopters and the Nigerian Army Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Regiment.

He added that the enhancement of the Military Command and Control Centre improved frontline surveillance and situational awareness.

Abubakar formally handed over command of OPHK to Ajose at the Headquarters Theatre Command, Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, ending his tenure as the 15th Theatre Commander.

In his maiden address, Ajose pledged to consolidate the gains recorded by his predecessor and sustain efforts to restore normalcy in the North-East.