Troops arrest 40 oil thieves, kill 169 terrorists – Spokesman

Nigerian troops on the frontline have neutralized 169 terrorists and arrested 641 of them.

Troops also arrested 40 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages.

Spokesman Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, who disclosed this on Saturday, noted that troops intensified their offensive against terrorists and insurgents across the country.

He hinted that synchronized air strikes by the air force as well as ground operations by ground forces have dislodged terrorist from their enclaves killing several of them.

“For instance, on November 6, 2024, the air component of Operation HADIN KAI, conducted targeted air strikes on terrorists located at KWALLARAM and ARAINNA CIKI islands in Borno State. The strikes resulted in the neutralisation of over 70 extremist members at KWALLARAM, with several more killed at ARAINNA CIKI,” he said.

“Meanwhile during the week under review, troops neutralised 169 and arrested 641 persons. Troops also arrested 40 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of One Billion Four Hundred and Two Million Nine Hundred and One Thousand Nine Hundred Naira (N1,402,001,900.00) only.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 192 assorted weapons and 2,970 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 106 AK47 rifles, 38 fabricated rifles, 26 Dane guns, one FN rifle, 3 fabricated revolver pistols, 11 locally made pistols, 5 pump action guns, one dummy AK47 rifle, and one unexploded RPG bomb.

“Others are 1,410 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,074 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 67 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 130 rounds of 108mm, 101 rounds of 9mm ammo, 146 live cartridges, 2 baofeng radios, 7 vehicles, 29 motorcycles, 40 mobile phones and the sum of N729,000.00 only amongst other items.

“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 20 crude oil cooking ovens, two dugout pits, 42 boats, seven reservoirs, five drums, 50 storage tanks and 83 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include three pumping machines, three outboard engines, one generator set, one speedboat, eight motorcycles, three mobile phones, and three vehicles among others.

“Troops recovered 914,445 litres of stolen crude oil, 537,325 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 1,285 litres of PMS.

“On the whole, troops operations have severely depleted the ranks and files. Consequently, the terrorists are forced into a desperate recruitment drive on social media, particularly the ISWAP terrorist group. Troops will sustain the offensives to eliminate all threats.”