Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said that troops on internal operations neutralised 106 terrorists, arrested 164 others and rescued 103 hostages in one week.
DHQ’s Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba told the media on Wednesday that troops arrested 32 suspected oil thieves and recovered stolen products worth N793.5 million only.
He said troops recovered 125 assorted weapons and 1,522 ammunition within the period.
He gave a breakdown of recovered weapons as follows: 41 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 24 locally fabricated guns, 28 Dane guns, one pump action gun, 755 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 623 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 102 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 63 live cartridges, 247 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo, 22 AK47 magazines, one baofeng radio, 22 vehicles, 31 motorcycles, two bicycles, 10 mobile phones and the sum of N2,956,000.00 only amongst other items.
Meanwhile, in the Niger Delta, he said, the troops discovered and destroyed 36 illegal refining sites, 20 dugout pits, 24 boats, 34 storage tanks, 56 cooking ovens, two speedboats, 14 pumping machines, 18 drums, 22 vehicles and four motorcycles.
Troops recovered 802,200 litres of stolen crude oil, 121,900 litres of illegally refined AGO and 450 litres of DPK.
General Buba said military operations are focused on targeting the centre of gravity of terrorists and their cohorts across the country, “finding them, flushing them out and dismantling their military, administrative and logistics capabilities across the various theatres”.
He said the operations are going in an upward trajectory, targeting the terrorist leaders, commanders, foot soldiers, as well as their collaborators, adding that many of the terrorists have been eliminated from the battlefield.
Troops are not resting on their oars, but are persistent in exerting significant military pressure to defeat terrorists and their cohorts in NE, NW, and NC Zones”.
The director said troops in the South East Zone are sustaining the momentum against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and their armed Eastern Security Network (ESN) cohorts.
Meanwhile, he said troops have continued to battle perpetrators of crude oil theft in the South-South Zone.
“We have established a unified command structure for security operating in the region. Additionally, we are examining other areas such as transparency of IOCs, credible metering of oil wells and the tracking of loading points to the destination of the crude oil”.
He stated further that the military was also galvanising the support of host communities and stakeholders in the oil sector and reinforcing surveillance efforts on vessels, terminals, and oil infrastructures, including jackets that house well heads.
Most importantly, troops are monitoring to ensure that the prosecuting agencies prosecute culprits. It is believed that with these measures placed, there would be a significant boost in crude oil output for the nation”, he said.
