Nigerian Army Intensifies Nationwide Pressure as Coordinated Raids Disrupt Terror, Criminal Networks
The Nigerian Army has stepped up coordinated security pressure across multiple regions, executing operations that significantly disrupted armed groups, illegal trafficking rings and other criminal networks between 29 November and 1 December 2025.
The series of raids neutralized eight terrorists, led to 51 arrests and secured the freedom of 27 victims, reinforcing the military’s broader strategy of denying criminals operational space.
Across the North East frontline, troops of the 151, 152 and 192 Battalions in Borno State maintained aggressive momentum against ISWAP/JAS cells. Precision ambushes and clearance patrols neutralized four fighters and dismantled their movement routes.
The soldiers recovered three AK-47 rifles, multiple magazines and assorted rounds of 7.62mm, 12.7mm and NATO ammunition, along with an AK-47 working part and a Baofeng communication radio. Although no hostages were found during these encounters, the troops successfully repelled infiltration attempts near Chibok, an area with a long history of insurgent activity.
In the North Central and North West, security operations focused on preventing the spread of communal violence, kidnapping and extremist collaboration.
Under Operations WHIRL STROKE and ENDURING PEACE, troops rescued 20 victims across Plateau, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Kaduna and Delta. Those freed included victims abducted in Panyam, Zaki-Biam, Tsanyawa/Kankia, Yagba West, Odo Eri, Sanga LGA and Isoko North.
Troops intensified intelligence-led arrests as well, picking up two suspected kidnappers in Panyam, four human traffickers in Sardauna, three extremist collaborators in Ukum, 13 illegal miners in Lau and two cultists in Delta.
A suspected gunrunner was also intercepted in Plateau, while 25 individuals linked to drug-related offences were apprehended in joint operations with the NDLEA in Bayelsa and Rivers, bringing the nationwide tally to 51 suspects.
Taraba State recorded one of the most forceful engagements of the period when troops responding to a communal-clash threat in Karim Lamido neutralized four violent extremists.
Soldiers recovered a fabricated AK-47 rifle, Dane guns, 25 rounds of special ammunition and two motorcycles believed to be used for mobility and reconnaissance. Similar recovery efforts in Delta yielded a locally made pistol, cartridges and several mobile devices, while security forces in Plateau returned 76 rustled cattle to their owners after intercepting the rustlers.
The South-South theatre maintained pressure on criminal enterprises linked to oil theft. Troops shut down an illegal refinery containing roughly 1,000 litres of stolen crude, intensifying the military’s long-running crackdown on pipeline vandalism and black-market refining networks.
In Kaduna, a major security threat was intercepted when troops stopped vehicles transporting 5,000kg of gelatine explosives, 3,000 metres of cordtex fuse, electric detonators and connecting wires, materials capable of enabling mass-casualty attacks. Investigations are ongoing in collaboration with other security agencies.
A defining breakthrough of the period was the capture of notorious arms dealer Shuaibu Isah, widely known as Alhaji. Troops arrested him during an attempt to take delivery of 1,000 rounds of ammunition from accomplices currently being trailed. His arrest is considered a critical blow to illegal arms circulation in the region.
The Nigerian Army emphasized that the operations form part of a sustained national security strategy designed to weaken criminal capabilities across all regions, assuring citizens that troops will continue to deny terrorists and armed groups any sanctuary within the country.
