The Military High Command on Thursday said that in the renewed efforts to end insurgency activities in the country, the Troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) and other security Agencies have neutralized 151 terrorists, arrested 456 others, 45 perpetrators of oil theft, rescued 76 kidnapped hostages and denied oil theft of the sum of N1.011bn in the last one week.

Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed this in Abuja while updating Defence Correspondents at bi-weekly briefing on the ongoing Military operations across the various theaters of operations in the six geo-political zones of the country.

According to him, “our ongoing operations reflect the commitment of the military to end terrorism and insurgency in the country. The armed forces will therefore remain focused in the conduct of its operations in support of national security interests. The priority of our operations is the protection of the citizens as well as villages, towns and cities from the senseless violence of terrorist and other violent extremist groups.

“Accordingly, our activities in Operation HADIN KAI in the Northeast have effectively curtailed Boko Haram and other terrorist activities in the Region. This is indicative by the large-scale surrender of members of the terrorist groups and the submission of a large cache of arms and ammunition

“Similarly, the operational activities of troops in Operation HADARIN DAJI and Operation WHIRL PUNCH have made significant impact to curtailed banditry and insurgency in the North West and North Central Regions of the Country. Additionally, the criminalities perpetrated in the Southeast region by the Indigenous People of Biafra and Eastern Security Network is being brought to the bearest minimum through activities of troops of Operation UDO KA, in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders.”

General explained that the upsurge in anti-illegal oil bunkering operations by troops of Operation DELTA SAFE in the South-South Region had yielded desirable outcomes.

According to him, “this is indicative by the appreciable improvement in the country’s daily crude production.

“During the course of operations in the last one week, the military neutralized 151 terrorists, arrested 456 terrorists and arrested 45 perpetrators of oil theft. Troops also rescued 76 kidnapped hostages and denied oil theft of the sum of One Billion, Eleven Million Eight Hundred and Fifty One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Naira (N1,011,851,250) only.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 216 assorted weapons and 443 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: 62 AK47 rifles, 7 pump action guns, 19 dane guns, 3 berreta pistol, 10 locally fabricated rifles, 5 locally made pistols, 399 IED detonator primers, 225 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 10 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 13 round of 9mm ammo, 20 rounds of 7.62mm x 54mm, 57 cartridges, 49 magazines, 21 vehicles, 4 motorcycles, one tricycle, 3 mobile phones and the sum of N3,194,450.00.”

He added that the Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 21 dugout pits, 56 boats, 138 storage tanks, 235 cooking ovens, 6 pumping machines, one outboard engine, 2 speedboats, 89 illegal refining sites and the sum of N13,950. Troops recovered about 1,205,950 litres of stolen crude oil, 452,910 litres of illegally refined AGO, 22,650 litres of PMS and 3,000 litres of DPK.

According to him, “Interestingly, the perpetrators of the terrorist and insurgency activities are using it as a guise for their personal gain through illegal mining and other unlawful activities. For instance, the foot soldiers carry out the illegal mining from mining pits, while their sponsors are in the cities and towns, moving around as normal citizens to dispose of the proceeds.

He revealed that the situation underscored the importance of ongoing military operations which were critical to the nation’s effort to achieve peace and security.

He assured that the military “is up to the challenge and more than ever before, the outcome is not in doubt”. (Nigerian tribune)

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