‘Troops neutralise 115 terrorists, arrest 238, others’

• Kill notorious commander, ‘Munzur Ya Audu’ 

Troops on the frontline have neutralised no fewer than 115 terrorists and arrested 238 others.

Notorious terrorist commander, ‘Munzur Ya Audu’, was also slain by the soldiers.

The military equally arrested 51 oil thieves and rescued 138 kidnapped hostages.

Spokesman of the Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major-General Edward Buba, who made the disclosure at a briefing, said the ongoing counter-terrorism war was to destroy terrorists and their cohorts wherever they are nationwide.

He said in achieving the aim, they recognise the need to continue to act and respond forcefully against terrorists.

Buba hinted that they were collecting intelligence, hunting hoodlums, and striking locations where are hibernating.

His words: “For instance, troops killed a notorious terrorist commander named Munzur Ya Audu in the North-East through well-executed operations.

“Furthermore, serious efforts have been emplaced at dismantling the military capabilities, as well as destroy the terror networks. Troops are also actively targeting terrorist logistics bases and other structures that have affiliation to terror groups.

“During the week under review, troops neutralised 115 and arrested 238 persons. Troops also arrested 51 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 138 kidnapped hostages. In the South-South, troops denied the oil thieves of the estimated sum of N921,847,146.00 only.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 145 assorted weapons and 3,825 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: one GPMG, two PKT guns, 68 AK47 rifles, two AK56 rifles, 24 fabricated rifles, 28 Dane guns, one fabricated revolver pistol, six locally-made pistols, one pistol, eight pump action guns, one hand grenade, four fabricated hand grenades, one RPG bomb and three explosives.

“Others are: 2,093 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 246 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 317 rounds of 7.62mm GPMG/PKM ammo, 129 live cartridges, 28 shotgun cartridges, 500 empty case of MG ammo, 147 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo, three empty cases of cartridges, 54 magazines, three baofeng radios, three handheld radios, one bandolier, 12 vehicles, 24 motorcycles, 11 bicycles, 51 mobile phones and the sum of N7,245,500.00 only amongst other items.”