By Harriet Tornguvan -Abuja
The Armed Forces of Nigeria remain steadfast in their commitment to winning the war against insecurity and restoring peace across the nation. This goal is being pursued through collective efforts, leveraging both internal and external strategies to combat and eliminate threats to national stability.
The outgoing Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, revealed this during a media briefing on Thursday, marking his final day in office. He highlighted the military's achievements in partnership with other security agencies across various operational theaters nationwide.
General Buba said, troops are fighting with great effort, determination and sacrifice to bring about great results.
According to him, troops neutralised 156 and arrested 464 persons. Troops also arrested 29 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages.
He said, In the South South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Six Hundred and Twenty Three Million Four Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand Three Hundred and Ninety Naira.
General Buba highlighted the unwavering commitment of the military during their onslaughts against the criminal elements within the week that led to significant successes troops recovered 219 assorted weapons and 2,871 assorted ammunition.
He explained that the troops’ determination and sacrifice have been crucial in achieving these results, the military has also discovered and destroyed 48 crude oil cooking ovens, 10 dugout pits, 56 storage tanks, and 46 illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta area, further crippling the enemy’s ability to operate.
He said, Troops also recovered 705,294 litres of stolen crude oil, 6,865 litres of illegally refined AGO, 1,500 litres of DPK and 800 litres of PMS7. Other items recovered include 28 boats,8 pumping machines and 6 speedboats. Additional are:3 outboard engines, 6 drums, 8 motorcycles, one mobile phone and 8 vehicles among others.
General Buba added that the military is profoundly conscious of its role and responsibility in ending insurgency and terrorism in the nation.
He highlighted that troops are actively countering and neutralizing resurgent terrorist activities in the North West and North East, which have been fueled by the infiltration of foreign fighters from the Sahel region.
He noted that, troops might record occasional tactical setbacks which is common place in any theater of war, our strategic objective of breaking the terrorist will to fight remains resolute and unhindered.
He encouraged citizens to embrace security as everybody's business and not that of the military. "citizens must not compromise on security, otherwise everyone's security is compromised".
Reflecting on the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, General Buba honored the sacrifices of fallen soldiers, describing their contributions as pivotal to the nation’s safety. He affirmed that their sacrifices have not been in vain, as they continue to inspire efforts to secure a brighter future for Nigeria.
