The Nigerian troops have 99 neutralised terrorists, while 198 of them were arrested.
The Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba disclosed this when briefing Journalists on ongoing military operations in different parts of the country in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
General Buba said that “troops also arrested 49 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 139 kidnapped hostages”.
According to him, in the South-South region of the country, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of One Billion Eighteen Million Four Hundred and Eighty-Three Thousand Nine Hundred Naira (N1, 018,483,900.00) only.
Furthermore, troops recovered 141 assorted weapons and 1,463 assorted ammunition.
He noted that the breakdown is as follows: one GPMG, one GT3 rifle, one assault rifle, 49 AK47 rifles, one Josef magnum pump action gun, one double barrel gun, 2 single barrel guns, 9 locally made pistols, 13 Dane guns, one hand grenade, 7 locally made rifles, 3 RPG chargers, 2 locally made hand grenades.
Others are 347 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 966 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 25 rounds of 9mm ammo, 58 live cartridges, 50 rounds of empty cases of 7.62mm special ammo, 30 magazines, 27 vehicles, 47 mobile phones, 34 motorcycles and the sum of N717,580.00 amongst other items.
The Director said that troops in the Niger Delta area destroyed 245 dugout pits, 31 boats, 69 storage tanks, 23 vehicles, 162 cooking ovens, one pumping machine, 3 outboard engines, one tricycle and 50 illegal refining sites.
Troops recovered 578,900 litres of stolen crude oil, 454,330 litres of illegally refined AGO and 10,000 litres of DPK.
General Buba said, “Going by the outcome of ongoing operations across the country, the military is ready, capable and eager to continue its mission of securing the country by the destruction of terrorists, extremists and insurgents”.
Given that there are several lines of operation in countering insurgency, it is pertinent to state that combat operations against these insurgents, terrorists and extremists remain one line of action. It is for this reason that the Armed Forces is calling on Nigerians for support, particularly in the area of public opinion. We have to show support for our troops to win this war, he added.
The gallant men and women of the armed forces continue to put themselves in harm’s way to ensure the safety and security of citizens. We have to exhibit patriotism and encourage them in our public discussion.
The leadership of the Armed Forces under the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, is open to workable ideas to improve ongoing operations.
Meanwhile, Nigeria belongs to us all and therefore victory in this war is nonnegotiable.
Together, we not just win, but we have dominion.
A minute silence was observed for officers who lost their lives in defending their fatherland.
Dominica Nwabufo
