The Federal Government has announced that it has secured 1,721 convictions for terrorism and related offences since the launch of its mass terrorism trial programme in October 2017, as security agencies outlined significant achievements in ongoing counterterrorism and anti-crime operations across the country.

The figures were disclosed on Thursday during a joint security briefing in Abuja, where representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Defence Headquarters, and the Nigeria Police Force provided updates on the country’s security efforts.

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Director of Legal Services in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, said the mass trial initiative, coordinated by the ONSA in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Judiciary, security agencies, and international partners, has completed 10 phases since its inception.

According to him, the programme has resulted in 1,721 convictions for terrorism and related offences while also ensuring that suspects against whom prosecutors failed to establish a case were either discharged or acquitted.

Mijinyawa explained that the first three phases of the trials, conducted between 2017 and 2018 at Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, produced 366 convictions, 882 discharges, five acquittals, and 61 adjourned cases.

He added that the fourth phase, held in 2023, recorded 14 convictions, while the fifth and sixth phases conducted in 2024 secured a combined 351 convictions.

According to the ONSA official, the seventh and eighth phases, completed in 2025, resulted in an additional 125 convictions.

He further disclosed that the ninth and tenth phases, conducted in 2026 at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, produced 865 convictions, alongside 28 discharges, one acquittal, and 224 adjourned cases.

Mijinyawa noted that the convictions recorded in 2026 alone accounted for more than half of all terrorism-related convictions secured since the programme began in 2017.

During the briefing, the Defence Headquarters reported that troops carried out 14,221 operations across Nigeria between January and June 2026.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba, represented by Group Capt. Kabiru Ali, said military operations led to the neutralisation of 1,597 terrorists and insurgents, while 1,516 kidnapped victims were rescued during the period.

He stated that operations covered several states affected by insecurity, including Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Katsina, Kwara, Zamfara, Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Oyo, and Kaduna.

The military also reported the recovery of 451 firearms, 16,726 rounds of ammunition, as well as 161 explosive devices and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

According to the Defence Headquarters, troops neutralised 412 Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters, arrested 332 suspected terrorists, rescued 261 kidnap victims from terrorist enclaves, and received the surrender of 132 insurgents.

The Nigeria Police Force also presented its operational scorecard for the first half of 2026.

Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, said the Force Intelligence Department’s Intelligence Response Team arrested 50 suspects linked to terrorism, kidnapping, and armed robbery while recovering 17 rifles, an anti-aircraft launcher, and 111 rounds of ammunition.

He added that police operatives dismantled a 33-member criminal network allegedly involved in terrorism, cattle rustling, and violent attacks in Kwara State.

In another operation, officers rescued a kidnapped woman and her 12-year-old twin sons after neutralising two suspected kidnappers and recovering two firearms.

The police also announced the dismantling of a railway vandalism syndicate, with approximately 60 tonnes of stolen railway materials valued at about ₦400 million recovered.

Security agencies concluded the briefing by urging Nigerians to continue providing timely and credible intelligence, stressing that public cooperation remains essential to sustaining ongoing operations against terrorism, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality across the country.