Aggressive troops axed 8,034 terrorists, nabbed 11, 623 others and rescued 6, 376 kidnap hostages in 11 defining months this year, according to Defence Headquarters which presented the Nigerian military’s 2024 preliminary score card.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, at a special chest-beating media briefing exercise in Abuja yesterday disclosed that the 6,376 civilian hostages were rescued from kidnappers.
He said that the troops adopted a very elevated level of willingness, morale, alertness and precision in clamping down on existential threats while displaying unflinching readiness in defending the territorial integrity of the country.
“Troops’ aggression across the various theatres of Operation since the beginning of the year culminated in 8,034 neutralized terrorists, 11,623 arrests and 6,376 rescued hostages.
“Furthermore, troops recovered 8,216 weapons, 211,459 ammunitions and denied crude oil thieves in the Niger Delta area an estimated sum of over N57 billion (N57,052,218,551.00) only.
“A breakdown of other recoveries is as follows: 4,053 AK47 rifles, 1,123 locally fabricated guns, 731 dane guns and 240 pump action guns. Others are; 120,247 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 41,515 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 5,373 cartridges, 1,940 assorted arms and 25,664 assorted ammunitions.”
According to the defence spokesman, the troops also recovered 8,216 weapons, 211,459 ammunitions and stopped oil thieves in the oil-rich Niger Delta region denying them robbery of an estimated sum of over N57 billion in the last 11 months.
Major General Edward Buba further stated that the feats by the armed forces represented its long established and unwavering commitment of its courageous male and personnel in the face of life-threatening odds and extreme sacrifice.
He disclosed that the other achievements included recovered 53,101,430 litres of stolen crude oil, 9,179,181 litres of illegally refined AGO and 90, 595 litres of DPK. Others are; 156,095 litres of PMS amongst other items.
In the North-East, Major General Edward Buba said that troops of Operation Hadin Kai, neutralised 2,918 terrorists, apprehended 2,285 suspects and rescued 1,496 hostages within the period under review, adding that 15,950 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists’ combatants and their families surrendered during the period.
“In the North-Central, the troops of Operation Safe Haven neutralised 411 violent extremists, arrested 1,859 and rescued 927 kidnap hostages as well as arms and ammunition.
“Under Operation Whirl Stroke, the troops neutralised 583 terrorists, arrested 916 suspects and rescued 649 kidnapped hostages and recovered a cache of arms while in the North-West, the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji neutralised 2,646 terrorists, arrested 1,654 suspects and rescued 2,339 kidnap hostages. Under Operation Whirl Punch, they neutralised 732 terrorists, apprehended 1,842 suspects and rescued 569 kidnap hostages,” he said.
He added that in the South-East, the troops of Operation UDO KA neutralised 666 terrorists, arrested 893 suspects and rescued 323 kidnap hostages during the period, stressing that the armed forces would continue to gain the upper hand in the coming months.
“Overall, the military is keeping up the pressure through ongoing operations in the various theatres across the country. The military is through these operations increasingly creating conditions in which terrorists cannot carry out acts of terror or harm citizens.
“Troops have since the beginning of the year been confronted by different threats in five active theatres of operations across the country, namely; North East, North West, North Central, South South and South East’’ he said.
“On the whole, the armed forces is constantly examining ways to improve the effectiveness of its operations and guarantee the safety of citizens. Relatedly, operations are on an upward trajectory to winning the war’’, he concluded.
