The Nigerian Army has arrested 18 serving soldiers and 15 mobile policemen for allegedly selling arms and ammunition to non-state actors across the country.
The Staff Officer Grade Two, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Major Ademola Owolana, disclosed this in Maiduguri while briefing defence correspondents on the activities of the Joint Task Force North-East between 2024 and 2025.
Owolana said the arrests, carried out under Operation Snowball, targeted ammunition racketeering networks spanning several states, including Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Lagos, Plateau, Kaduna, Rivers, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Owolana said, “So far, a total of 18 soldiers, 15 mobile policemen, and 8 civilians, including a traditional ruler, have been arrested.”
He explained that the preliminary investigation showed that community pressure on serving security personnel to supply weapons for communal conflicts and the lucrative nature of the illegal trade were major contributing factors.
According to him, two soldiers involved in arms sales, Sgt. Ameh Raphael and Sgt. Seidi Adamu, were discovered to have accumulated N45m and N34m respectively in their personal bank accounts.
Raphael served as an armourer with the “7th Division Garrison”, while Adamu was with the “3rd Division Ordnance Services”.
In a separate case, a police inspector, Enoch Ngwa, was found to have received over N135m through his account, allegedly from illegal arms deals.
“To this end, a more stringent punishment is necessary to act as a deterrent,” Owolana stated.
Owolana further revealed that the Operation Hadin Kai theatre recorded significant success in the ongoing crackdown against terrorist logistics suppliers and collaborators.
He said, “From January 2025 to the date, over 186 terrorist logistics suppliers, spies and collaborators have been arrested across the theatre of operation.”
He lamented the role of fifth columnists within the security forces, stating that some soldiers driven by personal greed had diverted arms and ammunition from military stockpiles and supply chains to terrorists.
“Additionally, a few soldiers motivated by greed are involved in ammunition racketeering, deliberately diverting arms from the military stockpiles and supply chains to terrorists. Such actions erode battlefield morale, reduce troops’ effectiveness, and strengthen enemy resistance,” he said.
Citing a recent example, he noted that on February 24, 2025, a soldier from the 144 Battalion was arrested with 30 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition at Tashin-Karo in Kano during a routine military police route search.
“Consequently, the theatre has continued to warn troops at all levels on the severe repercussions and sanctions of ammunition racketeering. Those found culpable have been dismissed and handed over to the police to serve as a deterrent,” Owolana said.
Highlighting further achievements of the theatre, Owolana recalled that in May 2024, terrorists had issued a vacation order that led to a mass displacement of civilians in Kukawa town.
He said Operation Hadin Kai responded with a stabilisation plan involving the deployment of seven excavators and the construction of watch towers, surveillance masts, and barricades, which facilitated the return of over 10,000 displaced persons to their ancestral homes.
In direct combat engagements, Owolana said troops neutralised 694 terrorists, and recovered 603 assault weapons, 56 RPG bombs, 16 mortar bombs, 147,137 anti-aircraft ammunition, and 16 pick-up vehicles, among other items.
As part of a long-term countermeasure, the Nigerian Army established the Unmanned Aerial Base Command in 2022 to bolster surveillance and intelligence operations.
“The command has carried out 1,138 intelligence surveillance reconnaissance missions, covering a total time of 10,033 flight hours,” he said.
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