Nigeria’s security forces killed 1,614 terrorists and other criminal elements, arrested 1,688 suspects and rescued 1,160 kidnapped victims between July and August 2026.
The figures were disclosed on Tuesday at the monthly security press briefing coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), where various security and emergency management agencies presented their operational reports for the two-month period.
The Director, Defence Information (DDI), Major General Samaila Uba, said the Armed Forces of Nigeria conducted 7,062 security operations across the country, neutralising 1,487 terrorists and insurgents, arresting 354 suspects and rescuing 777 kidnapped victims.
He said the operations, conducted across the six geopolitical zones, included clearance operations, intelligence-led raids, rescue missions and targeted arrests against terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, arms traffickers, oil thieves and other criminal elements.
According to him, the operations covered Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Katsina, Kwara, Zamfara, Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Oyo and Kaduna states.
Troops also recovered 91 firearms, 1,331 rounds of ammunition and 44 improvised explosive devices, which were safely detonated.
Major General Uba said a major highlight of the operations was the rescue of 777 kidnapped victims from a terrorist enclave.
He added that 309 Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province fighters were neutralised during the operations, while 354 suspects were arrested.
The operations also led to the recovery of weapons, motorcycles and livestock, as well as the dismantling of terrorist operational bases.
The military, he said, also conducted nine dialogue and peace-building initiatives and 15 stakeholder engagement meetings with traditional and religious leaders.
He added that 137 press releases were issued during the period, while 13 items of misinformation were identified and countered.
Major General Uba disclosed that 93 security personnel casualties and 249 verified civilian casualties were recorded during the period.
He, however, said no major border or transnational incident, critical infrastructure vandalism, prison break or threat to pipelines, railways and highways was recorded.
Police arrest 1,334 suspects, rescue 383
The Nigeria Police Force reported the arrest of 1,334 suspects and the rescue of 383 kidnapped victims during the period under review.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, said police operatives recovered 175 firearms, including AK-47 rifles and pump-action guns, as well as more than 3,790 rounds of live ammunition.
He said 93 vehicles and rustled cattle were also recovered, while at least 127 suspected criminals were neutralised during engagements with security forces.
CSP Iniedu said that in one operation, police tactical teams engaged about 240 bandits in a gun battle after intelligence indicated plans for a large-scale attack on a community.
He said the confrontation resulted in the deaths of 10 police officers and 17 bandits, while two civilians were killed in the crossfire.
He added that police rescued 32 kidnapped victims, comprising six adult males and 26 females, most of them children, after a gun battle with bandits at Maikujera village in Rabah Local Government Area.
In another operation at Amla-Cho Forest, 13 kidnapped victims were rescued after bandits abandoned them and fled following pressure from joint tactical teams.
Other operations, he said, resulted in the rescue of 76 kidnapped victims in separate incidents.
CSP Iniedu also disclosed that police intercepted suspected arms traffickers and recovered hundreds of rounds of AK-47 ammunition, including 551 rounds and 10 loaded magazines, from a female suspect along the Doma-Yelwa road.
Centre destroys 1,419 illicit weapons
The Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), under ONSA, DIG Johnson Kokumo (rtd), said the centre publicly destroyed 1,419 illicit weapons during its Second Quarter Arms Destruction Exercise held on July 30 at Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment, Giri, Abuja.
He said the exercise brought the cumulative number of illicit weapons destroyed by the centre since 2022 to more than 19,000.
The centre also recovered 5,050 illicit, unserviceable, decommissioned and obsolete automatic weapons from the Nigeria Police Force in June.
It subsequently received 399 JOJEF automatic guns intercepted by the Nigeria Customs Service on August 17.
DIG Kokumo disclosed that individuals linked to illegal firearm and ammunition manufacturing in Minna, Niger State, were being investigated and prosecuted.
NDLEA arrests 3,705 suspects
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it arrested 3,705 suspects between July 1 and August 21, comprising 3,346 males and 359 females.
The agency charged 574 cases to court and secured 471 convictions.
It said 990 drug users received counselling, treatment and rehabilitation under its demand-reduction programmes, while its War Against Drug Abuse initiative reached 225,500 people through 399 advocacy and sensitisation campaigns.
The NDLEA also conducted 2,298 targeted operations, dismantled 90 major criminal gangs and destroyed more than 1,200 drug joints.
It seized 53,980.27kg of illicit drugs during the period and recovered N8 million, £2,800 and pound 7,750 in cash.
The agency also secured court orders freezing bank accounts containing more than N9.8 billion linked to cartel operations.
In a major enforcement operation on August 17, the NDLEA destroyed 329,865.58kg of seized illicit substances valued at N301.058 billion in Lagos.
It said its personnel recorded zero casualties during the period. Among the major drug trafficking cases was the dismantling of a transnational cocaine syndicate following the seizure of 184.5kg of cocaine at a courier facility in Lagos.
The agency arrested a DHL Lagos employee, Lawal Mujab Kehinde, over alleged involvement in packaging and routing cocaine consignments.
The alleged mastermind, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as ‘KC Luxury’, was arrested at the departure gate of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Paris.
Customs collects N1.38trn
The Nigeria Customs Service reported revenue collection of N1.38 trillion in July and August with N784.656 billion generated in July while the service raked in N595.581 billion in August.
The Apapa Area Command recorded N323 billion in revenue in July, its highest monthly collection, before setting a new single-day revenue record of N28.1 billion on August 18.
Customs also reported seizures with a combined Duty Paid Value exceeding N61.3 billion.
In a major arms trafficking breakthrough, the service intercepted 399 Jojef pump-action rifles and 535 assorted firearm components at Tin Can Island Port.
The weapons were subsequently handed over to the NCCSALW, while two suspects were remanded for further investigation.
At the Seme border, Customs also intercepted 3,300 cartridges of explosives and handed them over to the police.
NFIU tracks criminal financial networks
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) said it intensified efforts to trace financial networks supporting organised crime, terrorism financing, money laundering and other serious offences.
The unit strengthened collaboration with security and law enforcement agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Counter-Terrorism Centre.
It said financial intelligence was increasingly being used to identify financiers, facilitators, beneficiaries and criminal assets linked to kidnapping, drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, illegal mining and terrorism.
The NFIU disclosed that Nigerian reporting entities submitted more than 41.7 million Currency Transaction Reports, 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports and 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports in 2025.
It said tax crimes and fraud accounted for 51 per cent of intelligence reports disseminated across the top 10 designated offences.
NEMA assists 24,625 households
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said it provided relief assistance to 24,625 households, representing 147,750 people, during July and August.
The agency intensified flood early-warning activities and monitored high-risk areas as part of preparations for the 2026 flood season.
NEMA also activated its National Emergency Operations Centre in August to improve coordination, information management and analysis of data on flooding and other climate-related emergencies.
The agency said it had no evidence of an immediate threat of a possible collapse of the Kagini Dam in Kaduna, contrary to viral social media reports.
It also continued monitoring water levels at the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon because of the potential implications for communities along the River Benue.
NEMA said it received 2,466 Nigerian returnees from other countries during the two-month period.
FRSC records 740 road crashes
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said its rescue teams responded to 740 road traffic crash scenes involving 4,497 people during July.
According to its spokesperson, Osondu, 2,295 injured victims were evacuated to medical facilities, while 314 fatalities were recorded.
He said the Corps arrested 4,691 offenders during Operation Guduma II, a specialised five-day operation targeting dangerous mix-loading, vehicle identity fraud and severe loading violations.
Another 7,876 commercial operators were arrested for overloading, while the nationwide Zonal Intervention Special Patrol recorded 14,287 traffic offenders for 15,928 safety violations.
The FRSC also recovered four stolen vehicles through its National Vehicle Identification Scheme database.
Fire Service responds to 426 incidents
The Federal Fire Service said it responded to 426 fire incidents during July and August, saving 585 lives.
One civilian death and 39 civilian injuries were recorded, while no firefighter was injured.
The service said property worth approximately N107.98 billion was protected, while property valued at N35.89 billion was lost.
Residential buildings accounted for 195 fire incidents, representing 45.8 per cent of the total, while electrical faults remained the leading cause, accounting for 251 incidents or 58.9 per cent.
The Federal Fire Service also took delivery of two additional firefighting trucks and signed an agreement with the Nigeria Customs Service to strengthen fire safety arrangements at Customs facilities.
NAPTIP rescues over 80 trafficking victims
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said it secured nine convictions against human traffickers during July and August and rescued more than 80 suspected victims.
The agency said it uncovered trafficking ‘muster points’ around the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, where victims were allegedly held before being transported abroad.
NAPTIP also warned of a rise in cyber-enabled human trafficking, with criminal networks using social media, encrypted messaging platforms and fake online job portals to recruit Nigerians for supposed employment in Southeast Asia.
The agency said some victims were instead forced into online fraud, romance scams and cryptocurrency-related criminal activities.
NAPTIP is also investigating the alleged fraudulent removal and illegal adoption of 54 children from Loko Community in Nasarawa State.
The children were allegedly taken from displaced parents under the guise of a ‘Back to School Initiative’ and trafficked to illegal orphanages and unauthorised adoption brokers.
The agency urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspicious overseas job offers, unauthorised child recruitment schemes and unregistered care facilities.
The security briefing highlighted the increasing use of intelligence-led operations, inter-agency collaboration, financial intelligence, technology and community engagement in efforts to tackle terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, organised crime, drug trafficking and other threats to national security.
NGX market cap hits N158.96trn as ASI gains 0.77%
_: The Nigerian equities market sustained its bullish run on Tuesday, adding N1.22 trillion to investors’ wealth as strong buying interest across key sectors pushed the benchmark index higher.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.77 per cent to close at 246,082.63 points, lifting its year-to-date return to 58.14 per cent, from 56.93 per cent in the previous session.
Consequently, the total market capitalisation of listed equities increased by N1.22 trillion, from about N157.74 trillion to N158.96 trillion.
The broad-based rally was driven by renewed demand for large-cap and selected mid-cap stocks, with gains in Aradel Holdings, Nestlé Nigeria and First HoldCo helping to outweigh losses recorded in Tripple Gee, ABC Transport and Nahco.
Aradel Holdings led the major gainers, appreciating 8.83 per cent, while Nestlé Nigeria gained 5.83 per cent and First HoldCo rose 1.17 per cent.
At the top of the gainers’ chart, FTN Cocoa Processors advanced by the maximum 10 per cent, followed by other strong performers including MC Nichols, SUNU Assurances, Sovereign Trust Insurance and Caverton Offshore Support Group.
On the decliners’ side, Tripple Gee and Company led with a 9.72 per cent decline, followed by ABC Transport, which shed 9.52 per cent, and Nahco, which dropped 9.22 per cent. Transnational Corporation and RT Briscoe were also among the notable losers.
Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 40 stocks gaining against 19 decliners, translating to a breadth ratio of about 2.1x. This indicated a strong dominance of buying interest over selling pressure during the session.
The positive performance was also reflected across the major sectoral indices, with Oil and Gas emerging as the best-performing sector, rising 3.87 per cent.
The Insurance sector followed with a 3.34 per cent gain, while the Commodity sector advanced 2.58 per cent. Banking and Consumer Goods indices each gained 0.87 per cent, while the Industrial Goods sector appreciated 0.71 per cent.
Trading activity strengthened during the session, although the number of transactions declined. Total volume traded increased by 7.44 per cent to 651.32 million shares, while transaction value rose 5.35 per cent to N40.77 billion.
Access Holdings dominated trading by volume, accounting for 129.89 million shares, while MTN Nigeria topped the value chart with transactions worth N4.69 billion.
However, the total number of deals fell by 18.16 per cent to 43,760 transactions, suggesting that the increase in market turnover was concentrated in relatively larger trades.
Analysts said the market’s renewed strength was supported by improving investor sentiment following the confirmation of Nigeria’s return to the FTSE Russell Frontier Market universe, with investors positioning for increased foreign participation and improved market visibility.
With the ASI now up 58.14 per cent year-to-date, the equities market continues to outperform its previous-year trajectory, as investors remain focused on earnings, corporate fundamentals and the potential impact of Nigeria’s reclassification on capital inflows.
The sustained rally also comes as investors reassess valuations and reposition ahead of the expected implementation of the FTSE Russell reclassification, which is expected to enhance Nigeria’s visibility among global frontier-market investors.