The Nigerian Navy has deployed a newly trained batch of specialised Marines to Borno State to strengthen ongoing military operations against terrorists in the Northeast.
The personnel are currently working with troops of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force to disrupt insurgent activities, particularly around the Baga axis.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing Chief of Naval Staff’s retreat at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja.
He explained that the specialised personnel underwent training with assistance from the United States before being deployed to the Northeast to support counterterrorism operations.
According to the defence chief, the newly inducted Marines have demonstrated encouraging performance since joining the military campaign, working in coordination with other security formations to restrict the activities of terrorist groups operating around Baga.
Providing further details about the deployment, Oluyede said: “Talking about the Marines, this was a set of specialised ratings brought together this particular year. They were well-trained, with support from the Americans.
“They have already been inducted into operations in the Northeast, and they are doing very well, especially in the Baga axis.
“They are doing very well in conjunction with other services, the Army and the Air Force, in checkmating the activities of terrorists in that general area. We are very proud of what they are doing.”
The CDS also assured Nigerians that the military remained committed to strengthening national security and improving the country’s overall security situation. He called on citizens to complement the efforts of security agencies by promptly reporting suspicious movements and providing credible information that could assist ongoing operations.
Oluyede stressed that effective intelligence gathering remained central to the military’s counterterrorism strategy, noting that cooperation between local communities and security personnel would improve the ability of the Armed Forces to identify threats and prevent attacks.
Reiterating the importance of public cooperation, he said: “It is important for us to reassure Nigerians that things are getting better.
“We are doing our very best collectively to make Nigeria safer. What we require from them is their support and prayers. If, for any reason, they see anything suspicious, they should tell us because everything we are doing relies on intelligence. “So, we need community support and the support of Nigerians to move the country forward.”
Meanwhile, military operations under Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have continued to gain momentum, with troops expanding coordinated ground, aerial and maritime offensives against fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) across the Lake Chad Basin.
In one of the recent operations, the maritime component of the military campaign, operating from Naval Base Lake Chad in Baga, launched an assault on suspected terrorist positions along the Lake Chad waterways on October 28. Military authorities subsequently disclosed that eight suspected terrorists were killed, while 10 others sustained injuries during the offensive.
The operation followed another major engagement carried out by ground troops on October 26 in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. During the offensive against terrorist hideouts in the area, troops reportedly eliminated 28 terrorists and wounded six others.
The military said the operation was intelligence-driven, with the targets identified through actionable information obtained from surveillance activities before the troops launched the assault.
Kukawa remains an important location within the broader Lake Chad operational theatre, which encompasses communities and areas such as Baga, Tumbunma Baba, Gajiram and Mairari, among other surrounding settlements. Military formations have sustained offensive operations across these locations as part of efforts to weaken insurgent networks, restrict their movements and restore security in the Northeast.
