Troops Kill 210 Terrorists, Arrest 142, Rescue 46 Hostages In 1 Week

Troops on internal operations across the country have within the week, neutralized 210 terrorists, arrested 142 others and rescued 46 kidnap hostages, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has disclosed.

Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, in a statement on Friday, said the troops also arrested 66 suspected oil thieves and recovered 1,932,245 litres of stolen crude oil, 432,150 litres of illegally refined AGO and 3,500 litres of DPK in the week under review.

He put the value of the recovered products at N2,275,451,600.00.

Buba also added that the troops recovered 243 assorted weapons and 5,453 assorted ammunition in the period under review.

Breaking it down, the Defence Spokesman said the troops recovered two GPMGs, three G3 rifles, 115 AK47 rifles, 42 locally fabricated guns, 16 pump action guns, 12 locally fabricated pistols, 34 dane guns, two pistols, three fabricated revolver gun, three automatic single barrel guns, two double barrel guns, two locally made short guns and four hand grenades.

Other include 2,699 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,558 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 339 rounds of 9mm ammo, 22 rounds of 5.64mm ammo, 121 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 468 live cartridges, 34 magazines, five HH boafeng radios, 18 vehicle, 26 motorcycles and 34 mobile phones, amongst other items.

Meanwhile in the Niger Delta area, the Defence Headquarters said the troops discovered and destroyed 81 illegal refining sites, 63 dugout pits, 46 boats and 120 storage tanks.

Maj.-Gen. listed other items recovered to include 100 cooking ovens, three outboard engine, 11 pumping machines, 23 vehicles, two tricycles, six mobile phones and one generator.

He reiterated that the military will continue to defeat terrorists and their cohorts in the battlefield, and dislodge them from the safe havens across the country.

He expressed that readiness of the troops as a formidable force to deal with threats.

“We are committed and remain strong to our mission of defending the country and protecting the citizens,” he said.