Troops Kill 148 Terrorists, Arrest 258, Rescue 291 Kidnapped Hostages
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
Troops in various theatres of operation across the country have neutralized 148 terrorists, arrested 258 others and rescued 291 kidnapped hostages.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, who made this known on Saturday in a statement detailing the activities of troops in the various theatres of operation across the country within the week, averred that the armed forces is, through its operations, turning the tide against terrorists and violent extremists across the country.
As a result, the support base of these terror groups are equally being dislocated.
Significantly, of the arrested terrorists are two ammunition couriers who collaborate with the terrorists. The arrested persons, identified as Danweri and Abubakar Hamza, were apprehended in Alkaleri LGA of Bauchi State and are cooperating with troops.
In the Southsouth, troops arrested 51 perpetrators of oil theft and denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Seven Hundred and Ninety-eight Million One Hundred and Forty Six Thousand Four Hundred and Seventy Naira (N798,146,470.00) only.
They recovered 146 assorted weapons and 2,599 assorted ammunition, with a breakdown as follows: 2 PKT guns, 72 AK47 rifles, 33 fabricated rifles, 28 dane guns, 2 locally made SMG, 3 locally made pistols, 2 pump action guns, one RPG bomb, one RPG tube, 39 magazines.
Others are: 1,596 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 636 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 111 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammo, 114 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 25 rounds of 9mm ammo, 98 live cartridges, 3 baofeng radios, 3 vehicles, 36 motorcycles, 40 mobile phones and the sum of N1,838,000.00 amongst other items.
Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 68 crude oil cooking ovens, 13 dugout pits, 41 boats, 45 storage tanks and 66 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include 4 speedboats, one pumping machine, 150 drums, one generator, 2 motorcycles, 2 mobile phones, one drone and 5 vehicles among others.
They also recovered 657,470 litres of stolen crude oil, 127,870 litres of illegally refined AGO and 5,000 litres of DPK.
Overall, Buba said, troops remain focused on destroying both the military capabilities of the terrorists and violent extremists, as well as their will to fight, adding that, “troops are in a good position and winning the war”.
