By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters has averred that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) has killed several terrorist key commanders and that those that remain are walking corpses who will sooner than later, meet their Waterloo.
Defence Media Operations Chief, Maj Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed this on Thursday, 4th April 2024, while briefing correspondents on the activities of troops in the ongoing military operations across the country, from January to March 2024.
Buba emphasized that the AFN has been collecting intelligence, hunting the terrorists, and striking them where they may be hiding and hibernating. “Our aim is to kill these terrorists and the infrastructure that supports them”, he said.
He said that the employment of significant firepower has led to the disruption of the activities of the terrorists, leading to the neutralization of significant terrorist commanders.
Reeling out the names of the slain terrorists, Buba mentioned that they included, but were not limited to: Abu Bilal Minuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok, the head of Is-Al Furquan Province (ISGS and ISWAP), and Haruna Isiya Boderi, a notorious terrorist who operated along Birnin Gwari forest in Kaduna State as well as the Abuja-Kaduna highway. He was killed on 21 February 2024.
Others are Kachallah Damina, killed in March 2024, along with over 50 other terrorists and combatants; Kachallah Alhaji Dayi, Kachallah Idi (Namaidaro), Kachallah Kabiru (Doka), Kachallah Azarailu
(Farin-Ruwa), Kachallah Balejo, Kachallah Ubangida, and Alhaji Baldu among several others.
These feats, Buba said, were achieved through synchronized strikes between the ground and air forces on terrorist enclaves. Upon acquisition of vital targets, fighter jets are immediately scrambled to carry out major bombarding raids on significant terrorist enclaves.
Furthermore, troops’ conduction of ambushes, raids, fighting patrols, and offensive against the terrorists during the period under review resulted in the elimination of 2,351 terrorists and the arrest of 2,308 persons, while 1,241 kidnapped hostages were rescued.
Troops also recovered 2,847 weapons, 58,492 ammunitions and denied oil thieves of an estimated N20,331,713,910, which consists of 21,573,310 litres of stolen crude oil, 2,723,430 litres of illegally refined AGO, 53,300 litres of DPK and 52,730 litres of PMS amongst other items.
“The foregoing demonstrates that ongoing operations are effective and result-oriented”, Buba said, adding that the military is raising the bar in the prosecution of the war, and “consequently, citizens will continue to witness the incremental effectiveness and efficiency of the armed forces”.
