By Olayemi Esan
The Defence Headquarters said through its operations across the country, have activities of economic saboteurs have been curtailed and exposed while other criminal elements’ activities have been obviated.
Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko made this known in a press briefing on the operational activities of the armed forces between 9 and 23 December 2021.
The briefing is the last of fortnight briefings for 2021 at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
Onyeuko noted that several other criminal elements, including high profile criminals were either killed in action or arrested.
He added that there are records of large numbers of terrorists surrendering, due to troops’ overwhelming kinetic and non-kinetic activities, while several kidnapped civilians were rescued.
Onyeuko added that troops repelled and forestalled armed criminal elements’ attacks on civilians and troops, recovered caches of arms, ammunition, equipment, vehicles and oodles of livestock within the year.
The maritime environment, troops in major and subsidiary operations were similarly able to disrupt smuggling activities, immobilize illegal refining sites, arrest as well as neutralized perpetrators/criminal elements and recovered tons of petroleum products.
While reveiwing updates ofnoperational activities, the spokesperson said in Operation Hadin Kai within 2 weeks, troops operational efforts in the locations in the last 2 weeks, cumulatively resulted in the neutralization of a total 51 and arrest of 19 terrorists.
A total of 122 assorted arms and 1,499 rounds of different calibres of ammunitions were recovered, while a total of 8 gun trucks of the terrorists were destroyed.
A total of 1,081 terrorists and their families comprising 187 adult males, 326 adult females and 568 children surrounded to own troops at different locations of the theatre. The surrendered terrorists were properly profiled and handed over to appropriate authorities for necessary actions
He pointed out that, within the last 2 weeks, troops of Operation Hadarin Daji with the support of the Air Component, sustained offensive operations against armed bandits and other criminal elements at different locations across the theatre a total of 33 armed bandits were neutralized, while 19 of them and their collaborators as well as armed herdsman were arrestedbin Sokoto and Zamfar respectively.
Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko also said, troops of Operation Safe Haven successfully repelled armed bandits’ attacks and arrested child traffickers, cattle rustlers, kidnappers as well as armed bandits and robbers in Plateau, Bauchi and Kaduna States.
In Operation Whirl Stroke, troops’ operational efforts resulted in the neutralization and arrest of armed bandits and other criminal elements, recovery of arms and ammunition as well as rescue of kidnapped civilians in Makurdi and Taraba State.
Brig Gen Benard Onyeuko also revealed that the general security situation in the Operation Thunder Strike/Whirl Punch theatres was relatively calm within the period in focus.
In Operation Delta Safe, troops sustained anti-illegal oil production operations and other non-kinetic operations to forestall activities of vandals and other economic saboteurs in the South – South Zone. Troops’ operations also yielded significant results at; Unholu and Uwaza communities’ areas in Ukwa West LGA of Abia State.
Troops have continued to maintain their operational tempos in all the theatres of operation to frustrate terrorists, bandits, economic saboteurs and other criminal elements across the Country.
Gleaning from the available information as I have just presented, there is no gain saying the efforts of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies so far yielded appreciable results. Our operational performance for the year, as you may recall, is a show of our commitment, synergy and determination to lay down our lives to protect our great Nation.
The Military High Command once again commends all the gallant troops and further encourages them to remain resolute and decisive in securing the country.
