Over 124,000 members of the Boko Haram insurgent group and their families have surrendered since President Bola Tinubu assumed office, according to National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Ribadu disclosed this on Thursday, May 22, during the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Summit in Abuja, marking two years of the Tinubu administration.
He attributed the large-scale surrender to intensified military pressure and improved coordination among security agencies.
“124,408 Boko Haram elements and their families have so far surrendered to our troops. This is the result of consistent pressure and coordination among our security agencies,” Ribadu said.
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In addition to the mass surrender, Ribadu revealed that over 13,500 insurgents have been killed and more than 11,000 illegal weapons recovered and destroyed under the current administration.
He also noted that President Tinubu’s government inherited five major security crises: Boko Haram in the Northeast, banditry in the North-West, separatist agitations in the South-East, Niger Delta militancy, and herder-farmer clashes in the North Central.
“Mass abductions, killings, and attacks on government infrastructure have been drastically curtailed,” Ribadu stated, crediting improved inter-agency collaboration for the security gains.
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In a sign of growing regional stability, Ribadu announced that oil exploration will resume in Ogoniland, Rivers State, for the first time in nearly three decades after activities were suspended due to civil unrest.
Despite the progress, Ribadu acknowledged ongoing operations in hotbed areas such as the Tumbuktu Triangle and Tumbu islands aimed at rooting out remaining insurgent factions.
