…as security agencies record remarkable gains in the fight against insecurity in September 2025
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, on Monday said Nigeria is making remarkable progress in the fight against insecurity.
According to the DG, Nigeria’s security, intelligence, enforcement, and regulatory agencies sustained a robust tempo of operations in September 2025, consolidating on gains and further degrading the capabilities of criminal and terrorist groups.
Speaking during the October edition of the monthly joint security briefing held at the NOA headquarters in Abuja, Mallam Issa-Onilu said the security agencies, through intelligence-led operations, cross-sectoral collaboration, and citizen engagement, achieved a series of tactical and strategic outcomes that reaffirm the government’s commitment to the protection of lives and property.
He disclosed that in the month under review, the Nigerian Army conducted 196 operations across various geopolitical zones targeting terrorists. insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, and violent extremists.
Adding that they (the Army) neutralized ISWAP/JAS fighters, foiled ambushes, and recovered rifles, explosives, and military equipment.
Mallam Issa-Onilu also revealed that the military has rescued 76 kidnapped victims in Katsina and received the surrender of 30 terrorists, including women and children, in Borno.
While disclosing that the Nigerian Army arrested insurgent leaders and collaborators in Niger, Sokoto, and Anambra states, he said it also raided weapon factories and gunrunners, disrupting local arms production and trafficking networks.
According to him, the gallant soldiers “intercepted multiple arms traffickers across Niger, Plateau, Kaduna, Ekiti, Ebonyi, and Katsina, seizing M-16s, AK-47s, PKT machine guns, over 2,000 rounds of ammunition, and disrupting major weapons supply chains using coordinated, intelligence-led surveillance.”
He said the Nigeria Armed Forces has continued to shrink the space for terror and criminality in the country.
On the fight against illicit drugs, he said the Nigeria Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 1,703 suspects (1,509 males and 194 females), dismantled 37 major drug syndicates across the country, and seized over 212,000 kg of narcotics.
He added that NAFDAC, within the month under review, conducted 40 enforcement operations across various regions, targeting fake and unregistered products.
The DG said the food and drugs control agency confiscated multiple containers of falsified medicines, syringes, soaps, lotions, smuggled drugs, and vegetable oil.
It also arrested 10 suspects linked to illegal importation and distribution of regulated products; carried out joint enforcement inside military barracks, in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy.
Continuing, Mallam Issa-Onilu revealed that the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) foiled drug smuggling attempts into Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja.
He said NCoS also expanded inmate rehabilitation with 291 inmates enrolled for national exams, adding that it constructed an 8-classroom block and scaled up counselling and medical outreach programs.
Highlighting some remarkable gains in other critical sectors, the DG emphasized that these outcomes demonstrate the coordinated resilience of Nigeria’s security and governance architecture under the Renewed Hope Agenda, where public trust, operational strength, and Institutional reform continues to align in service of national safety.
Spark News Naija reports that the objective of the security brief is to give greater clarity to our narrative and to harness suggestions that will ultimately lead to citizen understanding of what our government is doing to combat insecurity.