Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters ((DHQ) said on Thursday that troops decimated 86 terrorists in various theatres of operation across the country.
It said 101 insurgents were arrested while 36 illegal oil bunkerers were apprehended even as 60 illegal refineries were destroyed in the Niger Delta region.
The military high command also vowed to hunt down terrorists wherever they may be hiding in 2024.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, said intense military operations resulted in the death of 86 terrorists in one week.
His words: “Our operations resulted in 86 neutralised terrorists with 101 of them arrested. Troops also arrested 30 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 21 kidnapped hostages.
“In the SS, troops denied oil thieves of the estimated sum of N736,115,470.00.”
He said the aim of military operations remained to find and neutralise insurgents in their enclaves.
“The aim of our ongoing operations remains unchanged and clear even in the new year 2024. Our aim is to find and destroy the terrorist wherever they may be hiding in order to ensure their enduring defeat.
“This would deny the terrorist the ability to terrorise or hurt citizens across country”, he said.
He said: “Pursuant to our goal, troops have in the last one week, focused on striking the terrorist enclaves from our air attacks. We also exerted significant military power on areas in which the terrorists are hibernating.
Further according to him, “Furthermore, troops recovered 111 assorted weapons and 1,124 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 65 AK47 rifles, one HK G3 dun, one G3 rifle, eight locally fabricated guns, 15 dane guns, two fabricated rifle, one locally made pistol, one English pistol, one pump action gun, two auto pump action gun, and two single barrel guns.
“Others are 14 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 993 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 5 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 5 rounds of 7.62mm x 39mm, 99 live cartridges, one round of 9mm ammo, one of shotgun cartridge, two bandoliers, two fabricated swords, 13 magazines, five vehicles, 29 motorcycles, six bicycles, mobile phones and one GTA radio amongst other items.”
Buba said troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 37 dugout pits, 65 boats, 71 storage tanks, 14 vehicles. Other items recovered include 108 cooking ovens, 4 pump machines, one speedboat and 60 illegal refining sites.
“Troops recovered 1,013,530 litres of stolen crude oil, 299,169 litres of illegally refined AGO and 3,158 litres of DPK.
“Our operations clearly indicate that we are hunting the terrorist commanders and their senior leadership. Indeed, from their topmost leadership to the lowest commanders are dead men walking and we will stop at nothing until they are dead or surrender.
“The armed forces has demonstrated commitment by our actions to winning this war. Troops will, therefore, continue to act with tremendous force to achieve the task ahead”, he said.
Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
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