Troops Arrest 183 Suspects, Rescue 109 Hostages

Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said troops on internal operations across the country killed 187 terrorists, arrested 183 suspected terrorists and rescued 109 kidnapped hostages.

The director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, briefing journalists yesterday, said troops also arrested 26 suspected oil thieves and recovered stolen products worth N1,127,229,890.007.

General Buba said troops within the period under review recovered 128 assorted weapons and 3,300 assorted ammunition.

He broke down the recovered weapons as follows: one PKT gun, 80 AK47 rifles, 15 locally fabricated guns, 15 Dane guns, two FN rifles, five pump-action guns, two single-barrel guns, four locally fabricated pistols, one fabricated Beretta pistol, one locally made double-barrel gun, two hand grenades, two primed IEDs, and materials.

Other items recovered are 1,941 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 729 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 377 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 191 rounds of 5.55mm ammo, 199 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 16 rounds of 9mm ammo, 26 live cartridges, 26 empty cases of cartridges, 26 AK47 magazines, 6 baofeng radios, 10 vehicles, four motorcycles, four walkie-talkies, mobile phones, and the sum of N102,010.00 only, amongst other items.

Meanwhile, in the Niger Delta region, he said troops discovered and destroyed 57 illegal refining sites, 18 dugout pits, 30 boats and 49 storage tanks.

They also recovered 66 cooking ovens, four drums, five speedboats, 15 vehicles, two tricycles, one generator, and 11 mobile phones.

Other items recovered include 1,25,440 litres of stolen crude oil, 213,539 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 1,230 litres of PMS.