(Representative Image)
Nigerian military ride on their truck as they secure the area where a man was killed by suspected militants during an attack around Polo area of Maiduguri, Nigeria February 16, 2019. Reuters / AFOLABI SOTUNDE

The Defense Headquarters revealed Thursday that 81 terrorists had been killed over the previous two weeks during multiple military operations in the country's Northeast, North Central, and Northwest.

Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, director of defense media operations (DMO), revealed this information during a biweekly media briefing in Abuja. In the Northeast, he claimed, Operation Hadin Kai forces killed 56 Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, arrested 26, and rescued 59 victims, The Guardian reported.

The DMO said during recent operations in Gogore, a hideaway, Damboa, Tumbun Dila, Arege, and nearby communities in the western outskirts of Tumbuns in Borno State, the air component also eliminated numerous terrorists. He added that 340 terrorists and members of their families, including 12 adult males, 133 females, and 195 children, surrendered before the army at different locations.

He further disclosed that during multiple operations conducted in the Northwest zone, Operation Hadarin Daji soldiers killed 16 terrorists and captured seven others. In North-Central, he claimed troops from Operations Safe Haven and Whirl Stroke killed five terrorists, detained ten more, and captured one gunrunner.

On Jan. 28, four terrorist logistic supplies were also captured by troops in Maina Hari, Biu Local Government Area, according to Danmadami.

Additionally, the DHQ reported that at the time, troops destroyed illegally refined oil goods in the Niger Delta that were valued at over N128 million, New Telegraph reported.

During the operation, troops recovered 48 rounds of unique 7.62mm ammunition, 12 AK47 rifles, 16 locally produced handguns, one FN weapon, 12 AK47 rifles, ten motorcycles, twelve 9mm rounds, eleven rounds, and 27 AK-47 magazines.

Additionally, eight empty cases of 7.62mm special ammunition, 36 cows, ten motorcycles, three mobile phones, and two knives were also recovered by the forces.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's presidential election is set for Feb. 25, while its local elections are slated for March 11. But insecurity has been a hot topic of debate for many. Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the head of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), issued a warning on Jan. 7 that a rise in insecurity poses a massive threat to the country's elections.