Troops Neutralized 80 Terrorists, Arrested 304, 152 Oil Thieves, Rescued 44 kidnapped Hostages, Recovered 112 Assorted Weapons 898, Ammunition
The Defence Headquarters has stated in its weekly report of activities of troops, that the military operating at different theatres various operations neutralized 80 terrorists, while 304 of them were arrested.
This was contained in a statement by the Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Buba on Thursday in Abuja.
He further revealed that troops also arrested 152 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 44 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Three Hundred and Forty Six Million One Hundred and Seventy-Five Thousand Five Hundred Naira (N347,173,500.00) only.
Furthermore, troops recovered 112 assorted weapons and 898 assorted ammunition. The breakdown are as follows: 2 GPMG, one HK21 gun, 14 AK47 rifles, 8 pump action guns, 4 locally fabricated rifles, 8 locally made pistols, 5 dane guns, 239 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 431 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 4 rounds of 9mm ammo, 52 live cartridges.
Others are: 5 magazines loaded with 128 rounds of 7.62mm special, 6 vehicles, 28 mobile phones, 12 motorcycles, one laptop and sum of N782,790.00 amongst other items.
He disclosed that troops in the Niger Delta area destroyed 8 dugout pits, 11 boats, 46 storage tanks, 7 vehicles, 84 cooking ovens, 356 drums, one outboard engine, one pumping machine and 20 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 81,000 litres of stolen crude oil, 239,500 litres of illegally refined AGO, 5,000 litres of DPK and 10,500 litres of PMS.
He assured that the armed forces is very concerned about the issues of civilian casualties in operations, a situation which it views as tragic and unwanted. The military is determined to deal with the situation properly and make improvement from our experiences.
Major General Buba further assured that “the military will continue to take great measures to prevent civilian casualties. Protecting civilians remains a vital part of our operations in order to promote greater security for all Nigerians.
He reiterated that the ongoing military operations across the country are in support of the national security interest, adding that the operations are integral to the plan of focussing military pressure on the terrorists, insurgents and extremist in order to dismantle and destroy them or force them to submission.
He explained that the military remains focused to its core mission of creating a safe and secure environment for citizens by the total destruction of threats perpertrating insecurity in the country.
