The military on Thursday said, Nigerian troops neutralised 106 and arrested 164 persons, arrested 32 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 103 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of about N800m.
Major General Edward Buba, Director Media Operations disclosed this today, 25 July 2024 at the bi-weekly media briefing with Defence Correspondents at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
General Buba said troops recovered 125 assorted weapons and 1,522 assorted ammunition. These include 41 AK47 rifles, 24 locally fabricated gun and 623 rounds of 7.62mm NATO among others
He noted that Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 20 dugout pits, 24 boats and 34 storage tanks as well as 56 cooking ovens among others
He added that Troops also recovered 802,200 litres of stolen crude oil, 121,900 litres of illegally refined AGO and 450 litres of DPK.
Giving update of each zones, General Buba said troops of Operation HADIN ΚΑΙ neutralized 41 terrorists, arrested 27 suspects and rescued 16 kidnappers hostages. They also recovered 17 AK47 rifles, 360 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo and 195 rounds of 7.62mm NATO amongst others.
The troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN neutralized 7 insurgents, arrested 31 violent extremists and rescued 11 kidnapped hostages, recovered 19 AK47 rifles, 12 fabricated pistols, and 243 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, among others.
Troops of Operation WHIRL STROKE neutralized 5 terrorists, arrested 8 violent extremists and rescued 28 kidnapped hostages. Troops recovered 2 AK47 rifles, 2 fabricated guns and 42 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo amongst others.
Troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI neutralized 22 terrorists, arrested 23 terrorists and rescued 32 kidnapped hostages. Troops recovered 2 AK47 rifles, 9 fabricated rifles and 73 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo amongst others.
Troops of Operation WHIRL PUNCH neutralized 8 terrorists, arrested 20 suspects and rescued 12 kidnapped hostages, recovered one AK47 rifle and 26 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, amonsgt others.
Troops of Operation DELTA SAFE recovered 802,200 litres of stolen crude oil, 121,900 litres of illegally refined AGO and 450 litres of DPK. Additionally, troops discovered and destroyed 20 dugout pits, 24 boats, 34 storage tanks, 56 cooking ovens, 22 vehicles and 36 illegal refining sites, among others. Troops apprehended 32 perpetrators of oil thefts and violent extremists in the course of operation
Troops of Operation UDO KA recorded conducted offensive operations to include raids operations in Njaba and Mbaitoli LGAs of Imo State and Aba North LGA of Abia State, among others. Troops of Operation UDO KA neutralized 3 terrorists, arrested 22 violent extremists and rescued 4 kidnapped hostages. They recovered 31 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo amongst other items. All recovered items, arrested suspects and rescued hostages were handed over to th e relevant authority for further action.
General Buba troops are fighting in multi front operations and going after the centre of gravity of terrorist groups and their cohorts across the country.
"We are finding them, flushing them out and dismantling their military, administrative and logistics capabilities. Our operations are going in anupward trajectory and we have prioritised targeting the terrorist leaders, commanders, foot soldiers as well as their collaborators. Many of which have been eliminated from the battlefield.
In the South East Zone, we have sustained the momentum against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and their armed Eastern Security Network (ESN) cohorts. While, in the SS Zone, we continue to battle the perpetrators of crude oil theft.
In battling the perpetrators of crude oil theft. We have established a unified command structure for security operating in the region. Additionally, we are examining other areas such as: transparency of IOCs, credible metering of oil wells and the tracking of point of loading to destination of the crude oil.
We are also galvanising the support of host communities as well as stakeholders in the oil sector. We are also reinforcing our surveillance efforts on vessels, terminals and oil infrastructures to include jackets, that house well heads. Most importantly, we are monitoring to ensure that culprits are prosecuted by the prosecuting agencies. We believe that these lines of action will definitely make significant impact in boosting crude oil output for the nation.