The Defence Headquarters has disclosed that troops neutralized 212 terrorists across the various theatres of operation, and in the South -south, denied the oil theft of N1,193,817,760.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Director of Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, on Friday. It detailed the activities of troops within the past one week up till 20 December.
Significantly, one of the arrested is a high profile terrorist, identified as Bako Wurgi, who was arrested by troops in the NorthWest theatre of operation. Wurgi, linked to the murder of a Sokoto monarch and a staunch ally of wanted high profile terrorist Bello Turji, eventually succumbed to gun shot injuries sustained during the fire fight. He nevertheless provided valuable intelligence to support troops operations before he died.
Similarly, another pair of high profile terrorists, Hamisu Sale (aka Master) and Abubakar Muhammad, were arrested during separate operations conducted in NorthCentral theatre of operation. Buba said the duo are cooperating and providing valuable intelligence on the terror network.
Troops also arrested 45 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 152 kidnapped hostages.
Furthermore, troops recovered 247 assorted weapons and 6,174 assorted ammunition, with a breakdown as follows: 2 RPG UXO4, 110 AK-47 rifles, 56 fabricated rifles, 36 dane guns, 2 FN rifles, 2 Beretta pistols, 15 locally made pistols, 2 revolver pistols, 12 pump action guns, 2 double barrel guns, one single barrel gun, one RPG bomb, one RPG tube, 2 exploded RPG chargers, one PKM link, one link of GPMG and 70 AK-47 magazines.
Others are: 3,235 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,583 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 130 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammo, 400 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 92 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 107 rounds of 9mm ammo, 311 live cartridges, one FN magazine, 3 bandoliers, 5 baofeng radios, 8 vehicles, 51 motorcycles and 103 mobile phones amongst other items.
In the Niger Delta area, troops discovered and destroyed 35 crude oil cooking ovens, 27 dugout pits, 35 boats, 51 storage tanks and 61 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include 5 speedboats, 5 receivers, 59 drums, 3 motorcycles, 3 mobile phones and 8 vehicles among others. They also recovered 940,372 litres of stolen crude oil, 252,000 litres of illegally refined AGO and 132 litres of PMS.
The arrests and seizures, Buba said, are the consequence of robust operations targeted at terrorist leadership, as troops are on high alert and have increased readiness to protect the country from further terrorist aggression, particularly during the yuletide.
He said troops are bent on achieving sustainable peace in the nation by ensuring that the terrorists are held to account for any act of aggression against citizens. He urged citizens to “see something, say something“.
