Troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces have killed no fewer than 140 terrorists and arrested 135 suspects across the country within the past week.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed that two key members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, were among those arrested.
He identified them as Pius Iguh, a founding member of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, and Emmanuel Onwugu, an IPOB commander.
“In the South East theatre, troops at FOB Orsu conducted a sting operation that culminated in the arrest of an IPOB terrorist leader,” Buba said. “The arrested terrorist leader, identified as Pius Iguh, is a founding father of the ESN group in the Orsu general area of Imo State.”
“Similarly, troops at FOB Amaruku conducted a raid that resulted in the arrest of another IPOB terrorist commander identified as Emmanuel Onwugu. He was arrested in Mbano Local Government Area of Abia State,” he added.
Buba also confirmed that a notorious cult leader, Ifeanyi Rock, was arrested alongside ten of his men during a joint operation in Arochukwu, Abia State.
According to him, 18 suspected oil thieves were arrested in the Niger Delta, with stolen crude oil valued at over N1.7 billion recovered.
Troops discovered and destroyed 33 illegal ovens, 19 dugout pits, 47 refining sites, 22 storage tanks, 70 drums, and 41 boats. Recovered items included 1,122,710 litres of crude oil and 557,210 litres of illegally refined diesel, AGO.
During the operations, security forces also recovered 241 weapons, including 141 AK-47 rifles, two FN rifles, one PKT gun, 26 Dane guns, and several locally made pistols.
Additionally, they seized 3,254 rounds of ammunition, 42 AK-47 magazines, three vehicles, 31 motorcycles, 18 mobile phones, and cash totalling N79,052,150 and US$19.
Buba added that 76 kidnapped hostages were rescued during the operations.
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