Troops of the Armed Forces have neutralised 210 terrorists and arrested 142 of them.
This is as the troops in the South-South region of the country arrested 66 perpetrators of oil theft, and denied them an estimated sum of Two Billion, Two Hundred and Seventy-Five Million, Four Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand and Six Hundred Naira (N2,275,451,600.00) only.
Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, made this known on Friday while briefing the press on ongoing military operations of the Armed Forces as at 8th March 2024.
Buba disclosed further that troops recovered 243 assorted weapons and 5,453 assorted ammunition, with the breakdown as follows: 2 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), 3 G3 rifles, 115 AK47 rifles, 42 locally fabricated guns, 16 pump action guns, 12 locally fabricated pistols, 34 dane guns, 2 pistols, 3 fabricated revolver guns, 3 automatic single barrel guns, 2 double barrel guns, 2 locally made short guns, and 4 hand grenades.
Other items are: 2,699 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,558 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 339 rounds of 9mm ammo, 22 rounds of 5.64mm ammo, 121 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 468 live cartridges, 34 magazines, 5 HH boafeng radios, 18 vehicle, 26 motorcycles, and 34 mobile phones amongst others.
Troops’ operations in the Niger Delta area led to the discovery and subsequent destruction of 63 dugout pits, 46 boats, and 120 storage tanks, while other items recovered include 100 cooking ovens, 3 outboard engine, 11 pumping machines, 23 vehicles, 2 tricycles, 6 mobile phones, 1 generator and 81 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 1,932,245 litres of stolen crude oil, 432,150 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 3,500 litres of DPK.
Buba assured that the military will continue to defeat the terrorists and their cohorts on the battlefield and dislodge them from the safe havens across the country”, adding that, “even as the Ramadan is about to commence, troops are ready as a formidable force for the threats and know how to deal with them”.
Furthermore, he affirmed that the armed forces is a force of stability seeking to bring stability wherever it maybe needed across the country.
“Accordingly, we are committed and remain strong to our mission of defending the country and protecting the citizens”, he said.
