Troops Arrest Notorious Terrorist Commander, Eliminate Five IPOB/ESN Elements
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters has disclosed that troops of the Nigerian Army have arrested a notorious terrorist commander identified as Usman Maisaje.
Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba made the disclosure in a statement on Friday on the ongoing military operations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria as at 18th October, 2024.
According to Buba, the arrest of Maisaje who is a close associate of a wanted high profile terrorist leader known as Kachalla Boka, has been “rewarding in intelligence value as he is cooperating and providing troops with much needed intelligence for further operations”.
Also significant is the elimination of five members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and its cohort, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) during the week.
Meanwhile, troops across the various theatres of operation in the country, during the week under review, neutralised 96 and arrested 227 persons. They also arrested 45 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 157 kidnapped hostages.
In the Southsouth, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Seven Hundred and Twelve Million, Sixty Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Naira (N712,065,450.00) only.
Furthermore, troops recovered 71 assorted weapons and 1,463 assorted ammunition,with a breakdown as follows: 50 AK-47 rifles, 16 fabricated rifles, 5 dane guns, 5 pump action guns, 5 locally made pistols, one revolver pistol and 16 AK-47 magazines.
Others are: 784 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 403 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 164 rounds 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 53 rounds of 9mm ammo, 67 live cartridges, one Baofeng radio, 19 vehicles, 23 motorcycles, 35 mobile phones and the sum of N4,087,630.00 and 46,000 cfa only.
In the Niger Delta area, troops discovered and destroyed 4 dugout pits, 48 boats, 52 drums and 38 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 55 cooking ovens, 2 speedboats, one tricycle, 6 mobile phones, 6 vehicles and 60 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 712,535 litres of stolen crude oil and 76,800 litres of illegally refined AGO.
Buba maintained that troops’ activities are vigorously distruping the operational capabilities of terrorists through ongoing operations across the country, adding that the military will not relent on its plan to kill terrorists and destroy the infrastructure that support them. “We will increasingly degrade the terrorist military capabilities and effectiveness through our operations”, he said.
