Troops rescue 91 kidnap victims, kill 152 terrorists, arrest 109

Troops on the frontline across the country have neautralised 152 terrorists and arrested 109 others. The soldiers also rescued 91 hostages from various kidnappers’ dens.

Spokesman of Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General Edward Buba, who made the disclosure on Friday, noted that the war against terrorists, insurgents, violent extremists and others perpetrating insecurity in the country rages, stressing that troops were sustaining the momentum to achieve victory. He noted that the armed forces were steadily progressing towards the goal of total destruction of all these elements.

According to him, given recent events, the military learns every day and makes improvements on ways to better deal with threat situations posed by terror groups, adding that troops were moving in against the terrorists and denying them freedom of action.

He added: “During the week, troops carried out surgical operations against two prominent terrorist commanders and decimated their strongholds. Namely, Sadiku Enclave in Tsora Hill in Safana LGA of Katsina State and Alhaji Yusuf Enclave at Yadi Forest in Giwa LGA of Kaduna State.

“Furthermore, troops crippled crude oil theft activities at the following locations through air interdiction: Bugama, Idama, Cawtorne Channel and Krakrama, all in Rivers State. Troops also apprehended two female terrorists collaborators responsible for negotiations with relatives of victims for ransom.

“Overall, troops’ operations during the week resulted in 152 terrorists neutralised, 109 arrested and 91 hostages rescued. In the South South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of N795,683,395.00 only.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 183 weapons, 4,443 ammunitions. The breakdown as follows: 95 AK47 rifles, 35 locally fabricated guns, 76 dane guns, one GPMG, two PKT guns, 4,131 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 165 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 115 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 28 cartridges, 53 assorted arms and 197 assorted ammunitions. Others are 725,920 litres of stolen crude oil and 475,250 litres of illegally refined AGO, among other items.

“On the whole, the gallant men and women of the armed forces continue to take pride in putting themselves in harm’s way to ensure the safety and security of citizens. Citizens on the other hand, must constantly see the need to show support for troops to win the war.”