By Harriet Tornguvan -Abuja
In an onslaught to crush terrorists in the country, the military troops have neutralised 88 and arrested 228 persons in one week
Spokesperson of Defence Media operations General Edward Buba who made the disclosure also said troops also arrested 40 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages
Buba also said, operations are being modified to box in these terrorists, while also increasing operational intensity to ensure total destruction of all terror groups and dismantling of their terror networks.
He stated that troops are deployed in strength to provide assistance to the police in ensuring a hitch free off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State, slated for 16 Nov 24.
"Assuring that troops presence is to ensure security of citizens enabling them to cast their votes without any form of harassment or intimidation, while keeping mischief makers at bay.
"Meanwhile, during the week under review, troops neutralised 88 and arrested 228 persons. Troops also arrested 40 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of One Billion Two Four Million Four Hundred and Twelve Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty Naira (N1,021,412,950.00) only.
"Furthermore, troops recovered 84 assorted weapons and 2,393 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 34 AK47 rifles, 15 fabricated rifles, 11 dane guns, 5 fabricated revolver pistols, 8 locally made pistols, 3 pump action guns and one magnum pump action.
"Others are: 1,807 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 314 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 146 rounds of 7.62mm PKM ammo, 77 rounds of 9mm ammo, 49 live cartridges, 25 magazines, 2 baofeng radios, 16 vehicles, 35 motorcycles, 27 mobile phones and the sum of N1,851,000.00 only amongst other items.
"Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 13 crude oil cooking ovens, 20 dugout pits, 73 boats, 25 storage tanks and 59 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include 3 barges, 7 speedboats, 73 drums, one tricycle, 5 pumping machines, 3 mobile phones and 9 vehicles among others. Troops recovered 942,420 litres of stolen crude oil, 175,075 litres of illegally refined AGO and 4,980 litres of PMS.
"Overall, troops offensives has severely depleted ISWAP terrorist rank and file in the NE forcing a desperate recruitment drive. Similarly, terrorist in the NW are on a recruitment drive on social media for new recruits. Troops are aware of the situation and working with other security agencies and governments to thwart the plans". General Buba said.
