By Gbemiga Olamikan.
Nigerian troops have neutralised a total number of 171 terrorists and arrested 302 persons as 25 perpetrators of oil theft arrested while 134 kidnapped hostages rescued. Also troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Eight Hundred and Forty Six Million Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand Eight Hundred Naira (N846,480,800.00) only in the South South of the Country.
This was disclosed by Director Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen. Edward Buba in a statement signed by him in Abuja today. He revealed that, troops recovered 84 assorted weapons and 1,499 assorted ammunition.
Giving details of the success by troops, General Buba said that “one PKT gun, one G3 rifle, 3 AK49 rifles, 44 AK47 rifles, 10 fabricated rifles, 18 dane guns, 10 pump action guns, 4 locally made pistols, 18 AK47 magazines, 2 FN magazines, one smoke grenade and one bandolier” were recovered from operations across the country.
“Others are: 843 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 506 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 60 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ball rimmed, 90 live cartridges, 5 baofeng radios, 11 vehicles, 46 motorcycles, 4 bicycles, 52 mobile phones, cutlasses and the sum of N126,285.00 only amongst other items”.
He revealed that troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 26 dugout pits, 13 boats, 90 drums and 45 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 155 cooking ovens, 4 speedboats, one pumping machine, 7 vehicles and 98 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 799,400 litres of stolen crude oil and 151,150 litres of illegally refined AGO.
Maj Gen Edward Buba assured that the military will maintain its operational activities across the country to ensure enduring defeat of terror groups in the country as troops continue to demonstrate stamina, resolve and strong desire to protect citizens and ensure their safety across the country.
