Gift Wada
The Nigerian military said its troop has neutralized 286 terrorists, arrested 244 individuals, and the apprehended 83 perpetrators of oil theft.
Major-General Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, made the disclosure on Thursday during a bi-weekly media briefing, held in Defence Headquarters Abuja.
Within the period under review, General Buba further disclosed that troops rescued 122 Kidnapped hostages and recovered 587 assorted weapons, 7,943 assorted
Weapons seized include : 207 AK47 rifles, 56 locally fabricated guns, 17 pump action guns, 10 locally fabricated pistols, 22 dane guns, one FN rifle, 6 double barrel automatic pump action, 2 double barrel guns, 2 x 36 hand grenades and 10 IEDs.
Others are: 4,088 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 2,529 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 138 rounds of 9mm ammo, 39 rounds of 7.62mm refilled ammo, 331 P445 rounds of 7.62mm special, 180 rounds 5.5mm ammo, 2 PKT link of 7.62mm special, 445 live cartridges, 67 magazines, 6 HH radios,14 vehicles, 32 motorcycles, 34 mobile phones and the sum of N4,876,950.00 amongst other items.
Buba said troops of Operation Delta Safe successfully thwarted oil thieves in the Niger-Delta region, preventing the theft of crude oil worth over N2.5 billion.
He said, “the armed forces is not only ensuring decimination of terrorist and the cohorts in the country. It remains focussed and concentrates on the task and mission at hand.”
While stating commitment to ensuring the security and safety of citizens across the country, He called for collaborative efforts and alternative ideas to address the root causes of insurgency, emphasizing the importance of good governance and community support.
He said “We have eliminated several terrorist, their leaders and commanders.Troops are continually going after the terrorist and dislodging them from their hideouts. In spite of all these, it would appear that there more to be done to win this war outside the use of military pressure”.
“Accordingly , we must now win this war by changing the conditions that make the insurgents willing to fight. We must also win the war by increasing support for government at various levels through heart and mind projects indicative of good governance,” he noted.