The Nigerian troops have neutralized 113 terrorists and arrested 300 others in different parts of the country.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed this in Abuja when briefing journalists on the ongoing military operations in different parts of the country.
Major General Buba added that “the troops also arrested 25 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 91 kidnapped hostages”.
According to him, in the south-south of the country, troops checkmated oil theft of an estimated sum of five hundred and seventy-one million, seven hundred and ninety-three thousand, three hundred and fifty naira (N571,793,350.00) only.
Furthermore, troops recovered 129 assorted weapons and 717 assorted ammunition. The breakdown are as follows: one unserviceable AA gun, one RPG tube, 5 RPG bombs, one GT3 rifle, 54 AK47 rifles, 8 locally fabricated rifles, one locally made rifle, 2 pistols, 2 pump action guns, 2 dane guns, 4 locally fabricated pistol, 3 skeleton of AK47 rifles, 9 hand grenades, one unserviceable AK47 rifle, 14 magazines, 321 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, and 40 live cartridges.
“Others are 53 rounds of 5.45mm x 39mm ammo, 35 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 100 rounds of shotgun, 11 rifle body, 7 breech blocks, 7 rifle butts, 8 rifle muzzles, 9 piston assemblies, 210 springs, one drilling machine, hand filling machines, 10 magazine purges, IED-making materials, 4 baofeng radios, 15 motorcycles, 20 mobile phones, and the sum of N348,200.00, amongst other items,” he said.
Similarly, troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 76 dug-out pits, 35 boats, 95 storage tanks, 10 vehicles, 129 cooking ovens, 5 pumping machines, 13 speedboats, 6 outboard engines, one vessel, 3 motorcycles and 49 illegal refining sites.
“Troops recovered 514,640 litres of stolen crude oil, 339,315 litres of illegally refined AGO and 775 litres of DPK.
“It is important to highlight that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is a disciplined and well trained force that conducts its operation within the ambit of laws governing human rights and that of armed conflict.
“We have rules of engagement that are followed in the course of our actions. Nevertheless, there are standing court martials to put on trial any erring personnel that is found wanting during operations.
“There is, therefore, the need for us to be circumspect of groups and organizations that embark on misinformation and disinformation to give the military a negative image.
“They have ulterior motives for their actions. For instance, the circulation of old footage of incidents that occurred in yester years, that have been tried at court martial, as though they were recent occurrences is mischievous. The public should be wary of such groups and their motive,” he noted.
November 11 Off-cycle Guber Elections
As regards the upcoming off-season guber elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States, Major General Edward Buba assured that the military would provide a safe environment for voters to peacefully come out and cast their votes.
“However, the military is aware of plans of some to disguise themselves in military gear to orchestrate havoc and disrupt elections in some areas.
“The message to such a group is that there will be injurious consequences for such an action, as the military will not fold its arms and watch its image dragged through the mud,” he warned.
A minute’s silence was observed for soldiers that paid the supreme price in defending the nation.
