The Nigerian military said its troops involved in various operations across the country had in the last week killed a total of 147 terrorists, apprehended 381 suspects and rescued 113 kidnapped hostages across the country.
Giving an update on the activities of the troops yesterday, Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba said 74 assorted weapons and 3,498 ammunition, comprising one Dushka, one RPG-bomb, one RPG charger, 42 AK-47 rifles, 10 fabricated rifles, and 13 Dane guns were among the weapons recovered during the operations.
Buba added that the troops also recovered live cartridges, six vehicles, 32 motorcycles and eight mobile phones amongst other items. “During the week under review, troops neutralised 147 and arrested 381 persons. Troops also arrested 23 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 113 kidnapped hostages’, he said.
Giving a breakdown of the operations, Buba said in the North-East, troops of Operation ‘Ha?in Kai’, neutralised 81 terrorists, arrested 52 suspects, and rescued 34 kidnapped hostages, adding that a total of 94 terrorists comprising 19 adult males, 26 adult females, and 49 children, surrendered to troops within the theatre of operations.
In North-West zone, he said the troops of ‘Operations Hadarin Daji’ and ‘Whirl Punch’ neutralised 39 terrorists, apprehended 192 suspects, and rescued 50 kidnapped hostages as well as recovered a cache of arms. In the North-Central, Buba said troops of ‘Operations Safe Haven’ and ‘Whirl Stroke’ neutralised 17 insurgents, arrested 101 violent extremists, and rescued 23 kidnapped hostages within the week.
In the South-South, Buba said the troops of ‘Operation Delta Safe’ recovered 920,800 litres of stolen crude oil, 88,760 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 7,500 litres of PMS. He added that troops discovered and destroyed 15 dugout pits, 17 boats, 62 drums, one receiver, and 27 storage tanks as well as 84 illegal refining sites.
In the South-East, Buba said the troops of Operation UDO KA neutralised nine terrorists, arrested eight violent extremists and rescued six kidnapped hostages as well as recovery of weapons; while in the South-West, he said the troops of ‘Operation AWATSE’ apprehended five violent extremists and recovered four AK-47 rifles, one locally fabricated pistol, and 110 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, amongst others.
According to him, the recently rejigged war against crude-oil theft operations in the Niger-Delta has begun to yield a noticeable increase in the nation’s crude oil production.
“Citizens are urged to note that, winning the war depends not only on the military, weapons, and finances,’, he stated.
