The Nigerian Military high command has said that the Armed Forces are working decisively to eliminate the terrorists, end the insecurity and ensure the safety of citizens while making the terrorists pay a much heavier price than they have been forced to pay.
This was disclosed by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, as an update on ongoing military operations as of April 12, 2024.
According to General Buba, “Troops will continue to operate with tremendous force against terrorists across the country. During the week under review. Troops neutralized 188 and arrested 330 persons.
“Troops also arrested 36 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 133 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Six Hundred and Thirty-Seven Million Seven and Ten Thousand Three Hundred and Ten Naira (N637,710,310.00) only.”
He said the “troops also recovered 270 assorted weapons and 5,083 assorted ammunitions. The breakdown is as follows: 122 AK47 rifles, 47 locally fabricated guns, 47 Dane guns, 24 automatic pump action guns, 8 locally fabricated pistols, 2 locally made single barrel guns, one double barrel gun, one hand grenade and one IED.
“Others are 2,129 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,686 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 116 rounds of 9mm ammo, 133 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ball ammo, 151 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 619 live cartridges, 34 magazines, 8 HH radios, 8 vehicles, 40 motorcycles, 6 bicycles, 50 mobile phones and the sum of N610,210.00 amongst other items.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 51 dugout pits, 24 boats, 21 storage tanks and 4 vehicles. Other items recovered included 28 cooking ovens and 21 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 672,350 litres of stolen crude oil and 90,530 litres of illegally refined AGO.
“The military is in a good and strong position in the war against terrorists with many terrorist leaders killed. We will continue to provide security for citizens with the tools at our disposal.”