By Harriet Tornguvan -Abuja
The Defence Headquarters has revealed that two high profile terrorists identified as Hamisu Sale (aka Master) and Abubakar Muhammad were arrested during separate operations conducted in North Central theatre of operation.
Director Defence Media Operations General Edward Buba issued a statement that troops are on high alert and have increased readiness to protect the country from further terrorist aggression, particularly during the yuletide.
Additionally he said, troops in the North West theatre of operation, arrested another high profile and notorious terrorist identified as Bako Wurgi.
He added that the arrested terror leader is linked to the murder of the Sokoto Monarch and a staunch ally of wanted high profile terrorist Bello Turji's.
"The arrested terrorist leader, Bako Wurgi, eventually succumbed to gun shot injuries sustained during the fire fight. He nevertheless provided valuable intelligence to support troops operations before he died, General Buba added.
Feathermore General Buba said, during the week under review, troops neutralised 212 and arrested 272 persons. Troops also arrested 45 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 152 kidnapped hostages.
"In the South South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of one billion one hundred and ninety three million eight hundred and seventy thousand seven hundred and sixty Naira (N1,193,817,760.00) only.
"Troops recovered 247 assorted weapons and 6,174 assorted ammunition. The breakdown are as follows 2 RPG UXO4, 110 AK47 rifles, 56 fabricated rifles, 36 dane guns, 2 FN rifles, 2 baretta pistols, 15 locally made pistols, 2 revolver pistols, 12 pump action guns, 2 double barrel guns, one single barrel gun, one RPG bomb, one RPG tube, 2 exploded RPG chargers, one PKM link, one link of GPMG and 70 AK47 magazines.
General Buba stated that others included are 3,235 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,583 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 130 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammo, 400 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 92 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 107 rounds of 9mm ammo, 311 live cartridges, one FN magazine, 3 bandoliers, 5 baofeng radios, 8 vehicles, 51 motorcycles and 103 mobile phones amongst other items.
In another way troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 35 crude oil cooking ovens, 27 dugout pits, 35 boats, 51 storage tanks and 61 illegal refining sites.
He stated that other items recovered included were 5 speedboats, 5 receivers, 59 drums, 3 motorcycles, 3 mobile phones and 8 vehicles among others. Troops recovered 940,372 litres of stolen crude oil, 252,000 litres of illegally refined AGO and 132 litres of PMS.
General Buba is encouraging citizens that troops are bent on achieving sustainable peace in the nation by ensuring that the terrorists are held account for any act of aggression against citizens. Citizens are therefore urged to “See Something, Say Something“.
