Minister of Information Mohammed Idris
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, says the country has witnessed a significant decline in terrorism-related incidents over the past two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Idris addressed the U.S. Government’s recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” insisting that the data paints a far more positive picture of the nation’s security trajectory.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s armed forces and other security agencies “are winning the war on terrorism,” with measurable progress recorded nationwide.
He highlighted that the Tinubu administration has taken “stringent efforts in curtailing access to small arms and light weapons by non-state actors,” noting that “security agencies recovered and destroyed over 5,000 military-grade rifles and intercepted over 20 gun-running networks in the past months.”
Idris added that the Federal Government has made “multi-million-dollar investments in modernised equipment for our security agencies” and increased the defence and security budget.
“The President has always given the military his absolute support, and I assure you that there is the political will to remove the last vestiges of this menace from our country,” he stated.
The minister emphasized that the decline in attacks has been recorded across all regions — from the North-East and North-West to the South-East and North-Central.
“In the past two years, significant progress has been made in the war against terrorism across the North-West, North-East, South-East, North-Central, and other parts of our country. Within this period, the number of terrorism-related attacks has plummeted,” Idris said.
He referenced the Global Terrorism Index report released in March, which showed that terrorist incidents in Nigeria had fallen to their lowest level in over a decade.
Providing further figures, Idris revealed that in just eight months, the Nigerian military neutralised more than 592 terrorists in Borno State alone, while nationwide operations led to the elimination of over 13,500 terrorists and armed criminals.
He also disclosed that security forces made more than 17,000 arrests, freed over 11,200 hostages, and accepted the surrender of more than 124,000 insurgents and their families — who collectively handed over 11,000 weapons.
“In the North-West, especially Zamfara and Kaduna, 11,250 hostages have been freed, and some of the terror leaders like Ali Kachala, Boderi, and Halilu Sububu have been neutralised,” he added.
“In August, the military intercepted and killed, in one fell swoop, over 400 armed bandits who had converged to attack a village in Zamfara.”
He further disclosed that in the South-East, terror attacks have dropped by nearly 80 per cent through joint security efforts, while in the North-Central, several criminal groups have been dismantled and suspects arrested.
The minister also confirmed that two internationally wanted terrorism suspects — Mahmud Muhammad Usman and Abubakar Abba — believed to be leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU), Nigeria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, are currently being prosecuted.
“Their arrest marked a turning point in our ongoing operations against terrorism,” Idris said. “Usman, the self-styled Emir of ANSARU, allegedly coordinated various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria.”
