Troops fighting against kidnapping and other forms of insecurity in the country, successfully rescued a total of 71 kidnapped hostages in the last one week.
This is as troops neutralised 185 terrorists, bandits and kidnappers and arrested 212 of them. Troops also arrested 44 perpetrators of oil theft.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Major Gen Edward Buba while making this known in Abuja, said troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 51 illegal oil refining sites, 78 cooking pots, 12 dugout pits, 61 boats, 56 storage tanks, 4 pumping machines and 13 vehicles.
“Troops recovered 815,980 litres of stolen crude oil, 163,675 litres of illegally refined AGO and 1,750 litres of DPK thereby denying the oil theft of an estimated sum of One billion sixty five million, eight hundred and eighty five thousand and fifty naira (N1,065,885,050.00).
Gen Buba said that during the operations, troops recovered 224 assorted weapons and 2,337 assorted ammunition made up of 113 AK47 rifles, one G3 rifle, one PKT gun, 44 locally fabricated guns, 4 pump action guns, 2 pistols, 2 locally fabricated pistols, one berretta pistol, 25 dane guns, one double barrel gun, one single barrel gun, one locally fabricated revolver gun and 7 IEDs primed.
“Others are 1,382 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 387 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 74 rounds of 9mm ammo, 23 K2 rounds ammo, 111 live cartridges, 5,410 empty cases of 7.62mm special, 6 empty cases of cartridges, 2 magazines loaded with 60 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 21 magazines, one pistol magazine, 2 bandoliers, 2 vehicles, 22 motorcycles, 47 mobile phones, 11 HH radios and the sum of N2,369,670. 00 amongst other items.
Giving details of the operations, he said, ” “”Troops of Operation Hadin Kai neutralized 45 terrorists, arrested 8 BH/ISWAP terrorists and rescued 18 kidnapped hostages.
Troops recovered 29 AK47 rifles, 10 locally fabricated guns, 5 Dane guns, 7 primed IEDs, 231 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 143 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 2 baofeng radios, 5 motorcycles, 4 mobile phones, 3 bicycles and IED making materials among others.
“Troops of Operation Safe Haven neutralized 17 insurgents, arrested 64 violent extremists and 3 rescued kidnapped hostages.
“Troops recovered 38 AK47 rifles, 17 locally fabricated guns, 2 pistols, one fabricated pistol, one locally fabricated revolver gun, 7 dane guns, 118 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 244 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 6 rounds of 9mm ammo, 16 live cartridges, 20 empty cases of 7.62mm special, one pistol magazine, 2 motorcycles, 22 mobile phones and the sum of N55,280.00 amongst others.
“Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke neutralized 7 insurgents, arrested 3 violent extremists/insurgents and rescued one kidnapped hostage.
“Troops recovered 5 AK47 rifle, one berretta pistol, one locally fabricated rifle, 3 dane gun, 136 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 10 rounds of 9mm ammo, 2 empty cases, 4 magazines and 2 mobile phones amongst others.
“Troops of Operation Hadarin Daji rescued 39 kidnapped hostages, neutralized 65 insurgents, arrested 18 violent extremists/insurgents.
“Troops recovered 33 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 13 locally fabricated guns, one fabricated pistol, one double barrel gun, one single barrel gun, 8 dane gun, 657 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 8 empty magazines, 9 magazines loaded with 90 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 14 live cartridges, one vehicle, 3 motorcycle, 6 mobile phone and the sum of N2,000,000.00 only amonsgt other item.
“”Troops of Operation Whirl Punch arrested 30 violent extremists/insurgents and rescued 2 kidnapped hostages.
“Troops recovered one locally fabricated pistol, 110 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 51 rounds of 9mm ammo, 6 empty cases of cartridges, one vehicle and 5 mobile phones amongst other items.
“Troops of Operation Delta Safe neutralized 5 insurgents and apprehended 44 suspected oil thefts and other violent extremists/insurgents.
“Troops also recovered 20 weapons, 243 ammunitions, 5,389 empty 7.62mm ammunition and the sum of N8,000.00 amongst other items.
“Troops of Operation Udoka nuetralized 18 insurgents, arrested 36 violent extremists and rescued 8 kidnapped hostages.
“Troops recovered 8 AK47 rifles, one G3 rifle, 4 pump action guns, 3 locally fabricated guns, 126 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 4 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 102 live cartridges, 23 K2 rounds ammo, 13 rounds of 9mm ammo, 2 magazines, 4 mobile phones, 11 HH radios and the sum of N31,240.00 only amongst other items.
“Troops of Operation Awayse in the South West arrested 12 violent extremists and recovered 2 pistols, 2 mobile phones and the sum N115,150.00 amongst other items.
“All recovered items, arrested suspects and rescued hostages were handed over to the relevant authority for further action.
Gen Buba further said, “The military understands the true extent of the threat that we are facing and winning the war. Countering insurgency is not a sprint but rather a marathon.
“Accordingly, troops are taking the fight to the terrorists and making strides each passing day. Much has been done, and much more is still being done to achieve peace and security across the country.
“The armed forces is not oblivious of the security challenges across the country in recent times, particularly with the spike in kidnappings for ransom.
“Whether or not advertised crowd funding is contributing to the kidnappings across the country remains an ongoing debate.
“The ugly trend of kidnappings has dimed the light on the successes by gallant troops in combating the terrorist, insurgents and their cohorts across the country to create a safer environment for citizens.
“The military recognizes the urgency for an immediate turn around of the situation and is therefore actively working for peace and security across the country.
“It is worthy of mention to state that, achieving enduring peace in the country, requires that there is a change in the conditions that make the terrorists, insurgents and their cohorts willing to fight and carry out dastardly acts on fellow citizens.
“The situation therefore calls for all hands on deck with everyone playing their role towards achieving enduring peace.
“The armed forces on its part, has boots on the ground strategically deployed across the country to combat the terrorists, insurgents and their cohorts.
