The Nigerian military recorded 98 attacks across its operational theatres in October, even as troops killed 217 terrorists, rescued 349 kidnapped persons and arrested 333 suspects during the period.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, disclosed this on Friday during the monthly briefing on military operations in Abuja.
He said the attacks occurred between September 30 and October 30, involving insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, oil thieves and other criminal groups across the country.
According to him, Operation Enduring Peace recorded the highest number of attacks with 29, followed by Operation Hadin Kai with 27 and Operation Fansan Yamma with 24.
Operation Whirl Stroke recorded 12 attacks, while Operations Udo Ka, Delta Safe and Savannah Shield recorded four, one and one, respectively.
Onoja said troops successfully repelled the attacks through coordinated engagements and superior firepower.
He added that 70 insurgents surrendered during the month, while troops recovered 105 firearms and 3,174 rounds of ammunition.
One of the major successes, according to him, was the killing of a senior Islamic State West Africa Province commander, Abdussamad Ohida, in Owo Forest, Ondo State, on October 2.
He said Ohida was the deputy to the ISWAP leader in Central Nigeria and assumed leadership of the group after the arrest of its former commander by the Department of State Services in 2023.
The defence spokesman said the slain commander was involved in planning large-scale attacks across several states ahead of the festive season.
He also disclosed that troops repelled an ISWAP attack on Kukawa, Borno State, between October 6 and 7, killing 25 terrorists and recovering six AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines, 797 rounds of PKT ammunition and explosives.
In another operation, troops rescued 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted after gunmen attacked two commercial buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State on October 1.
The victims were rescued at Ndegwu community in Owerri West Local Government Area on October 7, while five members of the kidnapping syndicate were arrested.
In the North-West, troops under Operation Fansan Yamma rescued 167 abductees, killed 18 terrorists and arrested 10 suspects.
Onoja said troops also repelled an attack by more than 100 motorcycles carrying Lakurawa terrorists in Maiyama Local Government Area of Kebbi State on October 7, killing 10 attackers.
In the North-Central, troops under Operations Savannah Shield, Enduring Peace and Whirl Stroke rescued 110 kidnapped persons and arrested suspects linked to kidnapping, arms trafficking and other crimes.
The military also arrested a wanted terrorist kingpin and his accomplice in Mokwa, Niger State, as well as a suspected gunrunner and militia leader in Vandeikya, Benue State.
In the South-South, troops of Operation Delta Safe arrested 45 suspects, dismantled 49 illegal refining sites and recovered 756,837 litres of petroleum products.
In the South-East, Operation Udo Ka recorded the killing of two terrorists, the arrest of 22 suspects and the rescue of 33 civilians in Abia, Anambra and Imo states.
Onoja further disclosed that troops killed 10 terrorists during a follow-up operation at a kidnapping syndicate's camp in Abator, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, recovering five rifles, three Dane guns and materials for manufacturing improvised explosive devices.
The defence spokesman expressed condolences to the government and people of Taraba State over the deaths recorded in the October 23 terrorist attack on Binnari community in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area.
He said the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, had assured Nigerians that the military would intensify efforts to arrest those responsible and bring them to justice.
Onoja urged residents to provide credible information to security agencies, warning that collaborators, informants, logistics suppliers, recruiters and gunrunners would be arrested and prosecuted.
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