The Defence Headquarters has said in the last one week the Nigerian troops neutralised 38 terrorists, apprehended 242 others and rescued 89 kidnapped hostages in different operations across the country.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major-General Edward Buba, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
Buba said the apprehended suspects comprised 175 gunmen/criminals, 20 kidnappers, 30 collaborators and 17 pipeline vandals.
He said the troops denied the oil theft saboteurs the sum of N607m being value of seizures as well as recovery of 38 assorted weapons and 186 ammunition.
Giving the breakdown, Buba said the troops recovered 14 AK-47 rifles, one G3 rifle, one PKT, three AK47 rifle loaded with 23 rounds of 7.62mm special, one SMG, 10 Dane guns and five locally-fabricated pistols.
Others, according to him, include two fabricated weapon, two double-barrel guns, one locally-made revolver, three locally-fabricated pistols, 151 rounds of 7.62mm special, five rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 16 rounds of 9mm ammo, 16 rounds 5.56 x 45mm ammo, 5 rounds of 7.62mm special (refilled), 12 AK-47 magazines, one G3 rifle magazine, one FN rifle magazine, one magazine containing 30 rounds of 7.62mm special and seven empty cases of 7.62mm special.
“Miscellaneous items recovered include 33 motorcycles, 30 mobile phones, four tricycles, four Motorola HH radios, four vehicles, 10 bags of fertilizers and 73 livestock.
“Also recovered are seven cutlasses, one magazine pouch, two solar panels, 10 litres of PMS, Nigeria Police uniform, two gas cylinders, one power bank, one pair of woodland and desert camouflages each. Troops also recovered the sum of N2.59 million,” he said.
In the North-East, Buba said the troops of ‘Operation Hadin Kai’ neutralised 16 terrorists, arrested 53 terrorists and rescued 34 hostages as well as recovered a large cache of arms during the period.
In the North-Central, he said troops of ‘Operations Safe Haven’ remained relentless in offensive posture against kidnappers and other criminal elements within the operational area.
He said the troops had within the week neutralised three terrorists, arrested 13 suspected criminals, five kidnappers and rescued three kidnapped hostages.
According to him, troops of ‘Operation Whirl Stroke’ also neutralised seven terrorists, arrested three suspects and rescued three kidnapped hostages.
In the North-West, Buba said troops of ‘Operation Hadarin Daji’ neutralised five terrorists, arrested eight suspects and rescued nine kidnapped hostages while several terrorists’ camps were destroyed.
He said the troops of ‘Operation Whirl Punch’ neutralised five terrorists, arrested 44 collaborators and rescued 15 kidnapped civilians while several weapons with four trucks and four motorcycles amongst other items were recovered.
In the South-South, Buba said that troops of ‘Operation Delta Safe’ destroyed 39 illegal refining sites, 72 dugout pits, 65 wooden boats, 70 storage tanks and 119 cooking ovens with sundry equipment such as two speedboats, five outboard engines, and four pumping machines.
He added that the troops recovered 1,247,700 litres of stolen crude oil, 132,500 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, 57,450 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosine and 800 litres of Premium Motor Spirit.
In the South-East, he said, troops of ‘Operation UDO KA’ eliminated two members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network, arrested two, apprehended two trucks loaded with illegally refined AGO and rescued four kidnapped hostages.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
