The Nigerian military says its operations in an ongoing effort to combat national threats achieved significant successes over the past week, including the neutralization of 181 terrorists, the arrest of 253 suspects, and the rescue of 161 kidnapped victims.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
According to him, one of those arrested is a notorious gun runner identified as Mohammed Musa (aka Mamman), who was arrested in Plateau State.
He said that in the South-South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Seven Hundred and Twenty-Eight Million Two Hundred and Ninty Seven Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Naira (N728,297,650.00) only.
The statement adds, “Furthermore, troops recovered 228 assorted weapons and 6,749 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: 4 GPMGs, 3 G3 rifles, 85 AK47 rifles, 38 fabricated rifles, 36 dane guns, 12 FN rifles, 3 fabricated revolver pistol, 24 locally made pistols, 16 pump action guns, 2 single barrel guns, one berretta pistol, 4 hand grenades, 3 IEDs and 63 magazines.
“Others are: 2,891 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,354 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 586 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammo, 821 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 12 rounds of 5.56mm ammo, 409 rounds of 7.62mm PKT ammo, 32 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm PKT ammo, 21 rounds of 9mm ammo, 618 live cartridges, 1,146 assorted empty cases of ammo, 3 bandoliers, 4 baofeng radios, 15 vehicles, 33 motorcycles, 42 mobile phones and the sum of N577,800.00 only amongst other items.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 25 crude oil cooking ovens, 10 dugout pits, 38 boats, 44 storage tanks and 47 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include 6 speedboats, 3 receivers, 48 drums, 3 motorcycles, one mobile phone and 12 vehicles among others. Troops recovered 765,680 litres of stolen crude oil and 86,725 litres of illegally refined AGO.
“Troops will continue to act with tremendous force to ensure the terrorist and their cohorts are completely destroyed. Troops will also continue to create an atmosphere in which citizens live in peace and are safe from acts of terror.”
Major General Buba noted that all military efforts are aimed at degrading terrorist wherever they are hibernating or hiding.
