Rescue 181 hostages
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Thursday said that in the renewed efforts to end insurgency activities in the country, the gallant military troops have neutralised 156 terrorists, arrested 493 suspects, and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages.
The immediate past Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, discussed this in Abuja at a bi-weekly iteration with Defence Correspondents on the ongoing military operations by the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the various theatres of operations across the country against insurgency activities.
General Buba reiterated the commitment of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to winning the ongoing war against terrorists and insurgency across the country, with the troops fighting with great effort, determination, and sacrifice to bring about great results.
According to General Buba, “The just concluded Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day was a stark reminder that our fallen heroes have not died in vain. Indeed, the life of any personnel lost in battle contributes to making our nation safer.
“The military is committed to winning the war against terrorists and insurgency across the country. This is demonstrated as troops are fighting with great effort, determination, and sacrifice to bring about great results.”
He said that accordingly, “During the period under review, troops neutralised 156 terrorists, arrested 464 persons, as well as 29 perpetrators of oil theft, and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages.
“In the South South, troops denied the oil thieves of the estimated sum of Six Hundred and Twenty-Three Million Four Hundred and Forty-Seven Thousand Three Hundred and Ninety Naira (N623,447,390.00) only.
“Furthermore, troops recovered 219 assorted weapons and 2,871 assorted ammunition.”
According to him, “The breakdown is as follows: one GPMG, 68 AK47 rifles, one AK56 rifle, 12 fabricated rifles, 4 FN rifles, 4 dane guns, 7 pump action guns, one foreign double barrel gun, 9 fabricated IEDs, 18 FN grenades, 6 RPG bombs, 27 magazines, 4 IEDs and making materials.
“Others are: 1,618 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 676 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 16 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammunition, 68 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammunition, 317 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammunition, 73 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, 175 rounds of PKT ammunition, one box of 12.7mm ammunition, 25 live cartridges, one baofeng radio, 10 vehicles, 42 motorcycles, and 29 mobile phones, amongst other items.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 48 crude oil cooking ovens, 10 dugout pits, 56 storage tanks, and 46 illegal refining sites.
“Troops also recovered 705,294 litres of stolen crude oil, 6,865 litres of illegally refined AGO, 1,500 litres of DPK, and 800 litres of PMS.
“Other items recovered include 28 boats, 8 pumping machines, and 6 speedboats. Additional items are 3 outboard engines, 6 drums, 8 motorcycles, one mobile phone, and 8 vehicles, among others.
“Overall, the military is profoundly conscious of its role and responsibility in ending insurgency and terrorism in the nation. Accordingly, troops are thwarting and eliminating forms of resurgent terror attacks in the North West and North East, caused by the influx of foreign fighters from the Sahelian Region.
“Though troops might record occasional tactical setbacks, which is commonplace in any theatre of war, our strategic objective of breaking the terrorists’ will to fight remains resolute and unhindered.
“Overall, citizens are urged to embrace security as everybody’s business and not just that of the military.
“Accordingly, citizens must not compromise on security, otherwise everyone’s security is compromised.”
