By Harriet Tornguvan -Abuja
The aim of the armed forces in the ongoing counter terrorism and counter insurgency war remains to find and destroy the terrorist and their cohorts whenever they maybe hiding in our country.
The Nigerian Armed Forces have neutralized 115 insurgents and arrested 238 suspects as part of intensified counterterrorism and anti-crime operations across the country, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, announced on Thursday.
General Buba said, accordingly, we are collecting intelligence, hunting them and striking locations in which they are confirmed to be hibernating. For instance troops killed a notorious terrorist commander named Munzur Ya Audu in the North East through well executed operations.
Furthermore, serious efforts have been emplaced at dismantling the military capabilities as well as the destroy the terror networks of these groups.
Troops are also actively targeting terrorist logistics bases and other structures that have affiliation to terror groups, Buba said
Buba said, in the South South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Nine Hundred and Twenty One Million Eight Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand One Hundred and Forty Six Naira (N921,847,146.00) only.
Additionally, troops recovered 145 assorted weapons and 3,825 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: one GPMG, 2 PKT guns, 68 AK47 rifles, 2 AK56 rifles, 24 fabricated rifles, 28 dane guns, one fabricated revolver pistol, 6 locally made pistols, one pistol, 8 pump action guns, one hand grenade, 4 fabricated hand grenades, one RPG bomb and 3 explosives.
On the other hand, 2,093 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 246 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 317 rounds of 7.62mm GPMG/PKM ammo, 129 live cartridges, 28 shotgun cartridges, 500 empty case of MG ammo, 147 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo, 3 empty cases of cartridges, 54 magazines, 3 baofeng radios, 3 handheld radios, one bandolier, 12 vehicles, 24 motorcycles, 11 bicycles, 51 mobile phones and the sum of N7,245,500.00 only amongst other items.
"Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 78 crude oil cooking ovens, 21 dugout pits, 56 boats, 56 drums, 26 storage tanks and 56 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include 2 speedboats, one barge, 2 tricycles, one pumping machine, 2 walkie talkie, 2 outboard engines, 9 mobile phones and 12 vehicles among others. Troops recovered 872,070 litres of stolen crude oil and 67,985 litres of illegally refined AGO.
"it is clear that troops focus is on fighting terrorists across the country, the air force has been striking the terrorist enclaves with air attacks, troops have also exerted significant military power on areas in which the terrorists are hibernating.
General Buba ensures that, it is our pride as a force to place ourselves in harm's way in order to protect our citizens.
"We are committed to defeating all threats in order for citizens to live in a safer and more secured environment.
"This is the sacrifice we make as a force, for our nation.
