The Defence Headquarters has announced that over the past week, troops of the armed forces have neutralized at least 253 terrorists, apprehended 172 suspects, and rescued 206 kidnapped hostages.
Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, the DHQ spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
Maj.-Gen. Buba also reported that troops apprehended 15 individuals involved in oil theft, preventing oil thieves from accessing an estimated N1.07 billion in the Niger Delta during the week.
Additionally, the troops recovered 251 assorted weapons and 4,113 rounds of ammunition, including one GPMG, 118 AK-47 rifles, 54 locally fabricated guns, 47 Dane guns, six pump-action guns, four IEDs, a 60mm mortar tube, two AK butts, an MRAP, and one bandolier.
He detailed that the recovered ammunition comprised 2,047 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 942 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 98 rounds of 9mm ammo, 342 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 334 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm, 252 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm, and 110 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ball.
”Recovered items include 299 live cartridges, 32 magazines, two baofeng radios, 2 KYD radios, eight vehicles, 41 motorcycles, 27 bicycles, 41 mobile phones and N74.7 million, amongst other items.
”Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 22 dugout pits, 37 boats, 70 drums, four receivers, four reservoirs and 29 storage tanks.
”Other items include 215 cooking ovens, 13 vehicles, four wheelbarrows, one tricycle, one motorcycle, five mobile phones, one speedboat, two KYD radios, two outboard engines and 75 illegal refining sites.
”Troops also recovered 1.04 million litres of stolen crude oil and 205,550 litres of illegally refined AGO,” Buba explained.
Buba said the operations across the country were a testament to the military’s tireless effort to prevent anarchy, unrest and national security destabilisation.
He urged citizens to extend utmost respect to the armed forces rather than degrade the institution, saying it would be counterproductive and amount to self-sabotage to do otherwise.
According to him, the military remains steadfast as an element of national power utilised to protect and project the nation’s national interest.
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