Nigeria’s military has “neutralised” more than 13,000 terrorists over the past year, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said, touting significant gains in the country’s fight against insurgency and armed violence.

In a televised address marking Democracy Day on Friday, Tinubu stated that fatalities linked to armed rebel activity have fallen by 81 percent since he assumed office in 2023.

The president also highlighted progress under Operation Safe Corridor, a government-backed deradicalisation and reintegration initiative. According to Tinubu, “124,000 fighters and dependants have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor,” which is designed to rehabilitate repentant militants who voluntarily surrender.

The address commemorated Nigeria’s Democracy Day, observed annually to mark the end of years of military rule and the country’s return to democratic governance in 1999.

Despite the president’s optimistic assessment, Nigeria continues to grapple with a worsening security crisis. Armed groups linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda, alongside heavily armed criminal gangs, have continued to carry out deadly attacks and mass kidnappings for ransom across several parts of the country.

The persistent violence underscores the ongoing challenge facing Africa’s second-largest economy, even as the government points to recent military successes.