The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Friday stated that troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies are actively disrupting the operational capabilities of terrorists through ongoing operations across the country in a bid to address the nation’s security challenges.

This was contained in a statement made available to Defence Correspondents in Abuja by the Director of Defence Media, Major General Edward Buba, regarding the ongoing military operations by the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) in various theaters of operations against insurgency activities in the country.

According to General Buba, “Significantly, troops eliminated five Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) terrorist leaders during the week.”

Additionally, troops in the North Central operational theatre arrested a notorious terrorist commander identified as Usman Maisaje.

He added that during the week under review, troops neutralized 96 terrorists and arrested 272 individuals, including 45 perpetrators of oil theft. They also rescued 157 kidnapped hostages.

He further explained that in the South-South, troops prevented the theft of oil worth an estimated Seven Hundred and Twelve Million Sixty-Five Thousand Four Hundred and Fifty Naira (N712,065,450.00).

According to him, “The arrested terrorist commander is a close associate of a wanted high-profile terrorist leader known as Kachalla Boka. His arrest has provided valuable intelligence, as he is cooperating and supplying troops with crucial information for further operations.”

“Furthermore, troops recovered 71 assorted weapons and 1,463 rounds of assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 50 AK-47 rifles, 16 fabricated rifles, 5 dane guns, 5 pump-action guns, 5 locally made pistols, one revolver pistol, and 16 AK-47 magazines.”

“Other recovered items include: 784 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 403 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 164 rounds of 7.62x39mm ammunition, 53 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 67 live cartridges, one Baofeng radio, 19 vehicles, 23 motorcycles, 35 mobile phones, the sum of N4,087,630.00, and 46,000 CFA amongst other items.”

He further added, “Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 4 dugout pits, 48 boats, 52 drums, and 38 storage tanks.”

“Other items recovered include 55 cooking ovens, 2 speedboats, one tricycle, 6 mobile phones, 6 vehicles, and 60 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 712,535 liters of stolen crude oil and 76,800 liters of illegally refined AGO,” he added.

General Buba reaffirmed that the military would not relent in its efforts to eliminate terrorists and dismantle the infrastructure supporting them. He added, “We will continue to degrade the terrorists’ military capability and effectiveness through our operations.”