Joint security operations have led to the death of 80 terrorists, the arrest of 304 and the rescue of 44 kidnapped victims within the last two weeks, Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says.
The Director, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General Edward Buba, who gave the figure on Thursday, while briefing journalists on military and security agency operations across the country also said 152 oil thieves were also captured in the Niger Delta region of the country.
“The ongoing military operations across the country were in support of national security interests and integral to the plan of focusing military pressure on the terrorists, insurgents and extremists in order to dismantle and destroy them or force them to submit,” he added.
Gen. Buba said government forces also recovered 112 assorted weapons and 898 assorted ammunition, made up of 2 GPMG, one HK21 gun, 14 AK47 rifles, 8 pump action guns, 4 locally fabricated rifles, and 8 locally made pistols.
“Other seizures are 5 Dane guns, 239 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 431 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 4 rounds of 9mm ammo, 52 live cartridges, 5 magazines loaded with 128 rounds of 7.62mm special, 6 vehicles, 28 mobile phones, 12 motorcycles, one laptop and a sum of N782, 790.00, amongst other items.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area destroyed 8 dugout pits, 11 boats, 46 storage tanks, 7 vehicles, 84 cooking ovens, 356 drums, one outboard engine, one pumping machine and 20 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 81,000 litres of stolen crude oil, 239,500 litres of illegally refined AGO, 5,000 litres of DPK and 10,500 litres of PMS,” Gen. Buba said.
On recent bombing of some villagers in Kaduna by the military, Gen. Buba said, “The armed forces is very concerned about civilian casualties in operations, a situation that it views as tragic and unwanted. The military is determined to deal with the situation properly and make improvements from our experiences.”
“The military would continue to take great measures to prevent civilian casualties, as protecting civilians remained a vital part of our operations in order to promote greater security for all Nigerians.”
“The military remains focused on its core mission of creating a safe and secure environment for citizens by the total destruction of threats perpetrating insecurity in the country.”
“The military stands with all those grieving as a result of the drone strike and expresses our heartfelt condolences as a force over the losses.
“We pray for eternal peace for their souls. The incident is being investigated and the outcome of the investigation would go a long way in identifying areas for improvement in forestry for future occurrences.”
