By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
As part of the on-going counter-insurgency campaign against terrorist and their cohorts operating across the country, troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria during the week, neutralized 43 terrorists and arrested 115 others.
During the ambushes, raids, fighting patrols and other forms of offensives conducted against the terrorists, the troops also recovered 87 assorted weapons and 666 assorted ammunition.
Director Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major-General Edward Buba, disclosed this in a press release issued in Abuja on Friday.
He also announced the arrest of 17 perpetrators of oil theft and the rescue of 39 kidnapped hostages, just as troops operating in the South-South geo-political zone, denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of N159,652,620.00.
According to the Director, “troops in the Niger Delta area destroyed 20 dugout pits, 29 boats, 31 storage tanks, one tricycle and 3 vehicles. Other items recovered incl 24 cooking ovens, 3 pump machines, and 25 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 315,700 litres of stolen crude oil, 1,200 litres of illegally refined AGO and 3,158 litres of DPK.”
Major-General Buba gave a breakdown of weapons and other items recovered during the military operations to include 11 AK47 rifles, one FN rifles, 2 pump action guns, 8 locally fabricated guns, 11 dane guns, 2 locally fabricated pistols, one macarrol pistol, one berretta pistol, one fabricated SMG, one locally made mortar with one empty bomb, 4 IEDs, 17 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 592 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 4 rounds of 7.5mm ammo, one round of 9mm ammo and 36 live cartridges.
Others are: 18 empty cases of 7.62mm special, 2 bandolier, 13 magazines, 6 vehicles, 21 mobile phones, 9 motorcycles, 15 bicycles, 2 tricycles, 5 boafeng HH radios and the sum of N1,601,370.00 amongst other items.
“Our operations have prevented these evil elements from accomplishing their strategic objectives,” he declared.
He added that troops were hunting terrorist in their hiding places and conducting targetted offensives against the them to destroy them.
“Combat teams have neutralised several of the terrorist leadership and their foot soldiers as well as degraded their military capabilities,” he said.
He assured Nigerians that the military would defeat the terrorists on the battlefield and in their hiding places “in order that our country can flourish again. We have no choice but win this war for the betterment of our nation.”
“We call on the public to continue to act responsibly and be forthcoming for the progress of our nation. Citizens are urged to see themselves as the outstretched arm of the military in this war and to create conditions that would hasten victory,” he said.
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