By Joy Odor, Reportcircle News
As 2025 closed, Nigeria’s military opened its books, not with speeches, but with figures, names and theatres of conflict that defined a year of sustained combat across the federation.
From forests and border corridors to creeks and highways, the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) prosecuted a nationwide campaign against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, oil theft and organised crime.
At a year-end defence media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General Michael Onoja described 2025 as a year of operational recalibration, one driven by intelligence dominance, inter-agency coordination and relentless pressure on violent groups seeking territorial control.
Behind the statistics, he noted, lay a strategic goal: protect civilians, deny criminals freedom of action and reopen economic and social space strangled by insecurity.
He mentioned that across multiple theatres, Nigerian troops dismantled terror and bandit leadership structures that once anchored fear across regions.
According to him, among those neutralised were notorious commanders such as Aminu Kanawa, Dan Bokolo, Bello Buba, Abu Dan Shehu Jabbi, Dogo Bashiru Yellow, Amir Abu Fatimah and Kingpin Auta.
By year’s end, the military recorded:
4,375 suspects arrested
1,616 terrorists and family members surrendered
2,336 kidnapped victims rescued
For military planners, the surge in surrenders marked a strategic inflection point, evidence of shrinking safe havens and eroding command cohesion.
North East:
Under Operation HADIN KAI, the North East remained contested but measurably stabilised. Boko Haram and ISWAP, though weakened, relied on IEDs, ambushes and remote attacks to slow military advances.
Troops responded with sustained clearance operations and refined counter-IED tactics:
1,323 suspects arrested
1,616 terrorists surrendered
498 hostages rescued
₦32 million in cash, arms and vehicles recovered
Multiple camps and hideouts destroyed.
Military authorities informed that the gains reopened trade routes, revived farming and enabled displaced families to return home.
North West:
The North West tested military adaptability, with banditry, terrorism and cross-border infiltration converging under Operation FANSAN YAMMA.
Troops confronted Lakurawa fighters, Boko Haram/ISWAP cells and criminal gangs exploiting porous borders.
By December:
669 suspects arrested
966 kidnapped victims rescued
Arms caches and ransom funds seized.
A defining moment came with precision airstrikes, executed with US support, against ISIS-linked enclaves in Sokoto’s Bauni Forest.
GPS-guided munitions fired from MQ-9 Reaper drones neutralised transnational fighters attempting to enter Nigeria via the Sahel corridor.
Defence Headquarters confirmed zero civilian casualties, reinforcing Nigeria’s alignment with international partners on counterterrorism and border security.
North Central:
The Middle Belt remained volatile as terrorism, banditry and communal clashes overlapped across Benue, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa and Kwara States.
Through Operations ENDURING PEACE and WHIRL STROKE, troops dismantled arms trafficking networks and disrupted extremist enclaves:
ENDURING PEACE: 802 suspects arrested, 217 hostages rescued
WHIRL STROKE: 459 suspects arrested, 538 hostages rescued
Illegal arms fabrication hubs were targeted, choking supply lines and preventing the consolidation of new terrorist safe havens.
South South:
In the Niger Delta, militancy evolved into economic sabotage.
Under Operation DELTA SAFE, troops framed oil theft as both a security and fiscal threat.
The 2025 toll:
₦8.9 billion worth of oil theft foiled
16.6 million litres of crude recovered
503 illegal refining sites destroyed
778 criminals arrested, 53 hostages rescued
For Abuja, the operation doubled as economic defence, protecting national revenue while restoring environmental integrity.
South East:
Under Operation UDO KA, sustained pressure on IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, combined with court rulings against key figures, fractured operational capacity.
Troops recorded:
324 suspects arrested
64 kidnapped persons rescued
Weapons and IEDs seized
Security officials reported a sharp drop in criminal activity as fighters retreated deeper into the hinterlands.
The final defence briefing opened with a one-minute silence for journalists killed in a recent road accident, described by military leaders as “patriotic professionals who paid the ultimate price.”
From that solemn pause, the briefing pivoted sharply to hard truths.
In one of its clearest admissions, the military confirmed ISIS-linked elements operated in parts of the North West before recent airstrikes, ending weeks of speculation.
“Yes, they were there,” the Defence Media Operations chief said. “The intelligence was accurate.”
Questions on rising suicide bombing threats dominated the session.
The military confirmed the arrest of a suspected suicide bomber, calling it a major intelligence breakthrough.
Such arrests, he said, help:
Map recruitment pipelines
Disrupt logistics chains
Decode IED tactics.
While conceding that absolute prevention is impossible, the military said surveillance and intelligence coordination have been tightened nationwide.
Reports of terrorists fleeing targeted zones into neighbouring communities were confirmed and anticipated.
Military authorities said follow-up operations, corridor monitoring and field commander coordination are underway.
“We are acting but quietly,” the spokesman said, citing operational security.
On community defence groups, the military drew clear boundaries: vigilantes are not non-state actors, but auxiliaries under supervision.
Still, excesses will not be tolerated.
Insider compromise, officials warned, is treated as a grave offence.
Personnel found aiding criminals face swift disciplinary and legal action.
Running through the briefing was a central message: security cannot be outsourced to soldiers alone.
Citizens were urged to remain vigilant, report suspicious activity and resist misinformation.
Silence, the military warned, is oxygen for terror networks.
As New Year wishes were extended to troops, journalists and families, the military made one point unmistakably clear: 2026 will bring intensified pressure, not respite.
Nigeria’s enemies are adapting. So, the military insists, is Nigeria.
The war is far from over but the balance of pressure, the Defence Headquarters says, has shifted.
