More Terrorists Neutralised Across Military Operations – Defence Headquarters

By Shola Akingboye Oct 26, 2023

Nigerian Military has continued to achieve greater success in the fight against terrorism and other related crimes in the past weeks, leading to the arrests of no less than 182 terrorists and the neutralization of a host of others.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday at the periodic media parley with journalists on the operational activities of the troops in the ongoing counter-insurgency.

According to the DDMO,  troops have arrested 14 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 68 kidnapped hostages, which he said were achieved in collaboration with foreign partners, including in Abuja.

General Buba added that the Nigerian troops succeeded in blocking oil theft worth the sum of one billion, two hundred and twelve million, forty-six thousand, and one hundred and forty naira (N1, 212,046,140.00) only.

Furthermore, troops recovered 119 assorted weapons and 1,537 assorted ammunition.

He highlighted the breakdown as follows:

Troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN recovered 6 AK47 rifles loaded with 14 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, fabricated rifles, 18 rounds of 7.62mm special, and 43 rounds of 7.62mm NATO amongst others. Troops also neutralized 2 terrorists and arrested 99, while rescuing 15 kidnapped hostages.

Troops of Operation WHIRL STROKE neutralized 10 terrorists, arrested 10 terrorists, and rescued 7 kidnapped hostages. On 24 October 2023, troops on patrol made contact with a bandit in Tangaza LGA of Sokoto State. Following a firefight, troops neutralized one bandit and recovered 3 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 125 rounds of 7.62 nm Special ammo, 2 RPG bombs, and 9 motorcycles.

Troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI neutralized 10 terrorists, arrested 11 of them, and rescued 11 kidnapped hostages. The troop also recovered 13 AK47 rifles, one Dane gun, one fabricated rifle, 2 RPGs, 253 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, and a bag containing 375 rounds of 7.62mm special among other items.

Troops of Operation DELTA SAFE destroyed 8 dugout pits, 16 boats, 29 storage tanks, 37 cooking ovens, and 26 illegal refining sites among other items. Troops recovered 962,500 litres of stolen crude oil, 23,045 litres of illegally refined AGO, 38,100 litres of DPK, and 4,500 litres of PMS.

Troops also neutralized one criminal and apprehended 14 suspected oil thefts among others. On 17 October 2023, following reports on the possible location of one abducted Inspector of Nigerian Police, troops conducted a Search and Rescue operation to Oru West and East LGA of Imo State.

He said troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 15 dugout pits, 45 boats, 87 storage tanks, 128 cooking ovens, one pumping machine, four outboard engines, and 63 illegal refining sites.

Major General Buba in summary added that, “One of the top priorities of the armed forces is to secure the country and protect citizens from harm caused by this terrorist and extremist across the country. Accordingly, the military is actively working to achieve this mandate.

According to him, terrorists and extremists alike are now perplexed and suffocated, with little or no hiding place.  It is now a question of whether sooner or later it will be too late for most of them.

“Nevertheless, one thing is certain: the operation is just one of several others to flush out the terrorists.”

He said that ‘the message is clear to all, says  “you are either on the side of Nigerians and the armed forces or against us in the fight against terrorists and extremists.” He said.

However, the Public Relations and Information Officer of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, narrated the successes recorded by the troops through an air strike across the border, which killed many terrorists.
He noted the Federal government has assisted the military by purchasing more platforms and the NAF is expecting more platforms.

However, being an ongoing operation, not much can be revealed at this stage according to the military, yet several other arrests and discoveries were made as a result of the operation.

A minute of silence was observed in honour of those soldiers who paid the supreme price for their duties.

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