The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Thursday gave itself a pass mark in the battle against insurgents and bandits in the Northeast and Northwest.
It said 13,243 terrorists and their families have surrendered to troops in the Northeast while 250 bandits have been killed and 600 others captured in the Northwest.
The DHQ also confirmed the death of Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Lucky Irabor and Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Brig-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, made these known at different functions in Abuja.
Irabor, who spoke at the ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, dismissed the alarm that suspected terrorists had set up camps around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Niger State.
He also spoke on the scaled-up military operations in the Southeast and on Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.
The CDS said the operations in the Southeast were not discriminatory. On Gumi, who has been leading negotiations with bandits, Irabor said argued that the military would not prevent anyone from playing a part in the fight against insecurity.
Read Also: Anyim, Emir blame poor leadership for rising insecurity
Asked why attack’s by bandits have remained relatively high, he said: “They are essential, where they are. That is the reason why we are pursuing them. But more seriously, a larger number of the bandits remain in the Northwest.
“Of course, a few who are having in-road into the Northcentral. We are taking action so that they do not spread beyond the known locations.
”From the last report that I got on Monday, we have neutralized over 250 of the bandits, we have equally arrested well over 600 and because it is a continuous thing, the figures might also change.
“I will like to also indicate that the rescue operations have led to the rescue of many of those recruited by the bandits, which is also part and parcel of that action and is not limited to Zamfara State but it also extends to Sokoto and Katsina.
“I can also authoritatively confirm to you that al-Barnawi is dead. As simple as that. He is dead and remains dead.”
Irabor, however, did not give details.
There were reports more than a week ago that al-Barnawi had been killed in a crossfire with a rival group.
Al-Barnawi is the son of Mohammed Yusuf, the first leader of Boko Haram, which has been involved in insurgency in the Northeast since 2009.
The CDS also disclosed that thousands of kidnapped persons were rescued from various camps of bandits in Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Katsina states in the last five weeks.
Irabor confirmed that two soldiers lost their lives in an attack on Wazamai village, near Funtua-Gusau, a border town between Katsina and Zamfara states
Reacting to the claim that terrorists had set up camps around FCT and Niger State, the CDS said: “That report is not true.”
Asked why the military chose to scale operations up in the Southeast, while bandits in the Northwest and Northcentral are considered for negotiations, the Defense Chief noted that insecurity varies from region to region.
He stressed: “ What you find in the Southeast is different from what is obtainable in the North.
“But, let me tell you also that threat as it were, whether terrorism, banditry, or any form of criminality, they are not confined to boundaries.”
On Gumi, the CDS said: “What you find with Sheikh Gumi. Sheikh Gumi is not working for the government. You know him, he’s a he’s…for me as an individual, I may not speak to whether I share views with him, that’s not the issue. The point is that he’s an individual and he represents a group of people that he felt that he should use that approach to go to meet with the bandits.”
The CDS called on stakeholders to cooperate with security agencies to win the fight against insurgency.