By Harriet Tornguvan
The Military High Command (DHQ), in the last three months have eliminated 2,245 terrorists, arrested about 3,682 suspects and as well rescued 1,993 hostages.
Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General Edward Buba disclosed this during a bi-weekly briefing of the ongoing military operations between April to June, in Abuja on Thursday.
According to General Edward Buba, "the offensive posture of troops has significantly degraded the potency of terrorist groups and their offensive capability across the country.
He revealed that troops also apprehended scores of terrorists including high profile IPOB/ESN members, destroyed several illegal refining sites, denied oil theft of over 9,225149 litres of stolen crude oil, among other notable achievements.
He also disclosed that during the period under review, troops recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition across the troubled zones of the country.
He said,”The resolve of the armed forces is very clear and it is to destroy the terrorists and dismantle their military capabilities in order for citizens to be safe. Accordingly, troops are actively fighting in different forms and retain operational flexibility which gives us the ability to respond to different events and to project forces according to strategic needs.
“Indeed, the military has greatly degraded the terrorist, even though they are still present in the theatres of operation. It would take time and effort to completely destroy these terrorists, particularly as counter insurgency is akin to a marathon not a sprint.
“It is safe to say that the terrorists have prioritised their military capability over everything else. This is because as our forces advance and clear areas in which these terrorists hibernate, we continue to recover weapons, explosives and IEDs which are indicative of the priorities of the terrorist. Nevertheless, we continue to wipe out the terrorist through synchronised ground and air operations.
“During the second quarter of this year, troops neutralized 2,245 terrorists, arrested 3,682 suspected terrorists and other criminal elements as well as rescued 1,993 kidnapped hostages. Furthermore, troops recovered 2,783 weapons, 64,547 ammunitions and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum over N10 bn (N10,533,131,470.00) only.”
He added,”Breakdown for the period includes and is not limited to the following: 1,169 AK47 rifles, 36,273 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 14,764 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 713 assorted arms and 9,850 assorted ammo.
“Others are 9,225,149 litres of stolen crude oil, 2,874,916 litres of illegally refined AGO, 29,900 litres of DPK and 31,380 litres of PMS amongst other items.”
The DDMO stressed that troops operations are continually assessed in order to make adjustments in “our actions, thereby amending our operations to increasingly ensure we minimize civilian casualties. Our operations are progressing according to plan as we abide International laws governing armed conflict.
“Overall, we will do everything within the bounds of the law to make our nation safe for citizens.
“The military will keep up with the fighting spirit and maintain the stamina in the front lines.
“Our pride is to risk our lives, to save the lives of our citizens. This is what we do to secure our country”.
