operating below capacity, says commander

Linus Aleke in Abuja  

Troops of the Joint Task Force, North-east Operation Hadin Kai, said that they apprehended no fewer than 41 soldiers, police personnel, and traditional leaders for allegedly selling arms and ammunition to terrorists and other enemies of the state in the North-east and other zones in the country.

Also, Nigerian military has discredited a viral report attributed to Amnesty International on killings, abductions, and displacements in the country within a given period, stating that the fallacious press statement claimed that over 148 villages have been sacked by gunmen across seven local government areas of Benue State and a looming humanitarian crisis which is being ignored.

In its effort to win the hearts and minds of the populace especially those within the area of responsibility of the Joint Task Force, South-east, Operation Udo Ka, and counter extremist ideology of the criminal elements, has suffered a setback as the FM station – Udo Ka FM, established to achieve the above objectives, is currently operating below its installed capacity.

On terrorism, the military also expressed concern over the observed increase in cases of collusion by some non-governmental organisations who convey additives and food items to terrorist locations under the guise of humanitarian assistance. 

The military high command further revealed that the troops apprehended 18 serving soldiers, 15 policemen, and eight traditional rulers selling arms to non-state actors.

Addressing defence correspondents who were in Maiduguri on the biannual media tour of Operation Hadin Kai’s theatre area of responsibility, the Theatre Commander, OPHK Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, stated that the operations were conducted across 11 states, with suspects arrested in Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Lagos, Plateau, Kaduna, Rivers, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to him, “So far, a total of 18 soldiers, 15 mobile policemen, and eight civilians, including a traditional ruler, have been arrested.

“Preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation reveal community pressure on serving security personnel to supply arms and ammunition for communal conflicts as driving factors. It is also worth mentioning that the lucrative nature of trading in ammunition is another driving factor for its persistence.”

He said one Sgt. Ameh Raphael, Armourer of 7th Division Garrison, who has been in the trade since 2018, and Sgt. Seidi Adamu of 3rd Division Ordnance Services, who has also been in the trade since 2022, had over N45 million and N34 million, respectively, in their accounts. 

He disclosed that further investigation also revealed that a staggering sum of N135 million was discovered to have passed through the account of a policeman, Insp. Enoch Ngwa, who was arrested for arms racketeering.

The Commander said that more stringent punishment is necessary to act as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators in the future.

He stated that the theatre also recorded significant progress in the fight against terrorists’ logistics suppliers and collaborators. 

“From January 2025 to date, over 186 terrorist logistics suppliers, spies, and collaborators have been arrested across the theatre of operation,” he said.

The Commander, however, expressed concern over the proliferation of drugs and narcotics, which enhances terrorist operational capabilities. 

He noted that to counter this threat, the Joint Intelligence Mission Centre, Military Intelligence Base, and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intensified efforts to disrupt these networks.

He said, “Lack of tracking devices has continued to frustrate the arrest of logistics suppliers. Another point of concern is the observed increase in cases of collusion by some non-governmental organisations who convey additives and food items to terrorist locations under the guise of humanitarian assistance.” 

He lamented the activities of fifth columnists, which undermined the overall success of Operation Hadin Kai.

“Additionally, a few soldiers motivated by greed are involved in ammunition racketeering, deliberately diverting arms from military stockpiles and supply chains to terrorists. Such actions erode battlefield morale, reduce troops’ effectiveness, and strengthen enemy resistance.

“The most recent incident occurred on 24th February this year when a soldier of 144 Battalion was arrested with 30 rounds of 7.62mm specials at Tashin-Karo, Kano, by a military police K-19 on route search operations.

“Consequently, the theatre has continued to warn troops at all levels about the severe repercussions and sanctions of ammunition racketeering. Those found culpable have been dismissed and handed over to the police to serve as a deterrent,” he said.

Highlighting the Theatre’s achievements, General Abubakar recalled that terrorists, in May 2024, issued a vacation order, leading to a mass exodus of civilians in Kukawa town. 

He said, “However, Operation Hadin Kai subsequently issued an operational order for stabilisation operations, mobilising seven excavators, construction of watchtowers, surveillance masts, and barricades. The operation successfully led to the return of over 10,000 locals to their ancestral homes.”

Abubakar noted that the troops of Operation Hadin Kai killed 694 terrorists and recovered 603 assault weapons, 56 RPG bombs, 16 mortar bombs, 147,137 units of anti-aircraft weapons, 16 pickup vehicles, and others.

He added that the Joint Task Force has recorded over 12 drone incidents since 2004 to date. 

The Commander revealed that as a countermeasure, the Nigerian Army, in 2022, established the Nigerian Army’s Unmanned Aerial Base Command, which has continued to play a vital role in support of ongoing operations across the theatre.

“The Command has carried out 1,138 intelligence surveillance reconnaissance missions, covering a total time of 10,033 flight hours. The platform has continued to ease the acquisition of real-time intelligence, creating situational awareness for troops and necessary visibility for commanders during operations,” he concluded.

The military high command also revealed that the Amnesty International data alleged that no fewer than 450,000 people were forced out of their homes to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the state.

Responding to Amnesty International’s data, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, described as a fallacy the alleged overrunning of over 672 communities in Nigeria, out of which 167 communities were dislodged in Plateau State in the last two years.

General Kangye said, “The report stated that armed bandits carried out 38 attacks and displaced 43 villages in four LGAs in Plateau between 27 March and 2 April 2025. It is expedient to state that the report on the situation in Plateau State is a deliberate effort to mislead the general public towards galvanising negative public opinion against the military.

“The number of deaths quoted in the report does not reflect the actual situation in Plateau State,” General Kangye stressed.

On Amnesty International’s data and methodology, he said, “we are compelled to question the methodology underpinning Amnesty International’s statistics.

“Amnesty’s statement alleged that 10,217 persons were killed in Nigeria from 29 May 2023 to date, out of which 2,630 deaths were recorded in Plateau State.”

He explained that following the reorganisation of deployments and conduct of broad-spectrum subsidiary operations in Plateau State from July 2023, the state witnessed continuous improvement until the coordinated attacks in some communities in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs of Plateau State on 2 and 14 April 2025.

“The period covered in the press release did not record coordinated attacks on communities except for the Christmas Eve 2023 and the recent security breaches in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs of Plateau State,” he said. 

He averred that the allegation of killing 2,630 persons in Plateau State in the last two years is a concoction of falsehood in pursuit of a self-serving agenda.

According to him, “Similarly, nothing can be farther from the truth than the alleged displacement of 167 communities in Plateau State in the last two years. Although the crisis in Plateau State resulted in the displacement of some communities in 2011, there were no further displacements in the state between 2023 and 2025 as claimed in the report.

“Rather, due to the improved security situation, the Plateau State Government convened a committee for the resettlement of displaced persons in their ancestral homes in 2024. The committee is still finalising arrangements for the return of persons displaced to their various communities.”

In Amnesty International’s report on insecurity in the North-west region, General Kangye said, “Several claims, especially in Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Katsina, are exaggerated and not fully reflective of ground realities.

“The report rightly underscores the complexity and severity of the security challenges in the North-west, particularly those posed by bandits and other non-state actors. However, it falls short in reflecting the multi-pronged countermeasures, ongoing sacrifices by security forces, and tangible gains recorded in degrading terrorist and bandit networks.

“While Amnesty International emphasises figures and narratives of failure, it fails to contextualise the efforts, operational constraints, community dynamics, and collaboration among stakeholders currently shaping the battle space. He concluded that the allegations raised in the press release by Amnesty International could be disregarded.”

In another development, the Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF) South-east, Operation Udo Ka, Major General Oluyemi Olatoye, said that Udo Ka FM now covers only part of Enugu due to its low transmitting power.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Shuaibu Abubakar, during the operational briefing for defence correspondents who were touring his operational theatre, the Commander said that the 5KVA transmitter is currently operating at 2KVA, which is far below its installed operating capacity.

General Olatoye, who also doubles as the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, also appealed to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) to provide an 80KVA generator and a new 5KVA transmitter to expand the coverage and operations of Udo Ka FM.

According to him, “One of our operational challenges in non-kinetic operations is the limited reach of Udo Ka FM, which was established to win the hearts and minds of citizens and counter the increasing propaganda of IPOB/ESN. The FM station now covers only part of Enugu instead of the entire zone due to its low transmitting power.”

“At inception, the radio station was to operate on a 5KVA transmitter, which was installed alongside a 30KVA inverter and a 40KVA generator as a power backup. However, the 5KVA transmitter is currently operating at 2KVA, which is far below the installed operating power of the transmitter. This has limited the reach of the radio station to part of Enugu only. Also, the 40KVA generator has limited capacity to power the 30KVA inverter and other appliances within the facility. Consequently, efforts are ongoing with the DHQ to provide an 80KVA generator and a new 5KVA transmitter to expand the coverage and operations of Udo Ka FM.”

The Commander also stated that security is everybody’s business, calling for a whole-of-society approach to the fight against insecurity in the South-east and, of course, the entire federation.

General Olatoye said that traditional, religious, and political leaders in the zone are cooperating and supporting the joint task force, stating that “security is everybody’s business.”

“Security is a whole-of-society approach; it is everybody’s business. So, the South-east governors and traditional leaders are very supportive. They are collaborating with our field commanders to ensure that we get the necessary information we need to work with.”