Governorship poll: Military deploys troops in Ondo

The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the deployment of troops in large numbers for the upcoming Ondo State governorship election.

The DHQ stated that the deployment is aimed at supporting the Nigeria Police Force and ensuring a smooth election process in the state.

In a statement on Thursday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen. Buba Edward, said that the troops’ presence would enable voters to cast their votes without fear of harassment.

He said, “Troops are also deployed in strength to assist the police in ensuring a smooth off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State, scheduled for 16 November 2024.”

“Indeed, the troops’ presence is to ensure the security of citizens, enabling them to cast their votes without any form of harassment or intimidation while keeping mischief-makers at bay. The NAF is already involved in flying sensitive electoral materials in support of INEC.”

Buba also reported that various operations in the northern parts of the country led to the deaths of 88 terrorists and the arrest of 228 suspects.

“Troops are conducting an onslaught to crush terrorists in the North West and other parts of the country. Accordingly, operations are being modified to box in these terrorists while also increasing operational intensity to ensure the destruction of all terror groups and the dismantling of their terror networks,” he said, adding that during the week under review, troops neutralized 88 terrorists and arrested 228 individuals.

“Troops also arrested 40 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages,” Buba said.

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He also said that troops had recovered stolen crude oil worth N1bn in the South-South region.

According to him, in the South-South, troops denied oil thieves an estimated sum of N1,021,412,950.00. Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 13 crude oil cooking ovens, 20 dugout pits, 73 boats, 25 storage tanks, and 59 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include three barges, seven speedboats, 73 drums, one tricycle, five pumping machines, three mobile phones, and nine vehicles, among others. Troops also recovered 942,420 litres of stolen crude oil, 175,075 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 4,980 litres of PMS.

He added, “The breakdown is as follows: 34 AK-47 rifles, 15 fabricated rifles, 11 Dane guns, five fabricated revolver pistols, eight locally made pistols, three pump-action guns, and one magnum pump-action gun.”

“Other recoveries include 1,807 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 314 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 146 rounds of 7.62mm PKM ammunition, 77 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 49 live cartridges, 25 magazines, two Baofeng radios, 16 vehicles, 35 motorcycles, 27 mobile phones, and the sum of N1,851,000, among other items.”