Troops Killed 572 Terrorists, Arrested 790 In July — DHQ

A total of 572 terrorists have been neutralised and another 790 suspected terrorists arrested while 479 kidnapped hostages were rescued in July 2024, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said.

Director Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba disclosed this in a statement on Friday where he assured of the Armed Forces’ commitment to ensure stability in the ongoing nationwide protest.

He said, “The armed forces seek to bring stability wherever it may be needed in the face of ongoing protests across the country. We have tightened security in several areas, bearing in mind the protest was hijacked and turned violent in some parts of the country”.

Maj.-Gen. Buba said troops also recovered 440 weapons, 10,589 ammunitions and stolen crude worth over N3 billion (N3,652,382,080.00).

He gave the breakdown of recovered items in the month of July to include but not limited to 232 AK47 rifles, 93 locally fabricated guns, 82 Dane guns, 32 pump action guns, 5,041 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 2,768 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 659 cartridges, 63 assorted arms and 2,259 assorted ammunitions.

Other items recovered comprise 3,650,080 litres of stolen crude oil, 625,518 litres of illegally refined AGO, 450 litres of DPK and 1,230 litres of PMS, amongst other items.

On the bomb blast recorded in Borno State, Buba regretted that 17 civilians died with several others wounded in the incident.

He explained that the incident occurred when a female suicide bomber infiltrated and detonated her suicide vest in Kawuri Village of Konduga local government area of the state.

“The incident resulted in 17 civilian deaths with several others wounded and receiving treatment in hospital”.

General Buba assured that the military remained committed, and strong in its mission of defending the country and protecting citizens.

He therefore urged the citizens not to compromise on security, saying otherwise that the security of everyone would be compromised.