By Joy Odor
The Nigeria military in a bid to combat terrorists, insurgents and their cohorts has killed one of the notorious terrorist commanders in Jigawa State known as Mai Hijabi, neutralised 165 others and arrested 238 suspected persons.
This is even as the Armed Forces intensified its war efforts, through mobilization of lethal forces and air strikes on terrorists.
The Director Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Major General Edward Buba affirmed this in Abuja during a press conference on the ongoing military operations across the Theater operations in Nigeria.
According to him, the Troops also arrested 35 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 188 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Six Hundred and Eighty Eight Million One Hundred and Twenty Five Thousand One Hundred and Fifty Naira (N688,125,150.00) only.
The DDMO also noted that the troops recovered 153 assorted weapons and 2,182 assorted ammunition.
The breakdown are as follows:
81 AK47 rifles, 23 fabricated rifles, 27 dane guns, 13 pump action guns, 5 locally made pistols, 3 revolver pistols, 30 AK47 magazines and one bayonet.
Others are: 1,561 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 278 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 70 rounds of 50mm ammo, 72 rounds of 9mm ammo, 87 live cartridges, one baofeng radio, 19 vehicles, 21 motorcycles, 45 mobile phones and the sum of N64,100.00 only amongst other items.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 2 dugout pits, 58 boats and 39 storage tanks.
“Other items recovered include 13 cooking ovens, 35 drums, one motorcycle, one tricycle, 4 speed boat, 13 vehicles and 65 illegal refining sites.
“Troops recovered 789,200 litres of stolen crude oil and 64,950 litres of illegally refined AGO.
“Our role in the ongoing war is clear and we are winning the war” he said.
Maj Gen Buba opined that the Troops understand the importance of momentum and are therefore taking the fight to the terrorist.
According to him, the Armed Forces caution persons or groups, from making threats or inflammatory comments on untoward activities against troops presence or deployment as a result of ongoing operations.
“For instance one of the notorious terrorist commanders in Jigawa State known as Mai Hijabi, was eliminated from the battlefield during the week.
“The military is not oblivious of some security challenges faced by citizens in certain quarters and are reassessing operations in those areas to better secure and protect citizens.
“The outcome of such an act is better imagined than experienced.
“Troops recognize the urgency to ensure peace and security for all citizens across the country. Accordingly, working on new strategies to better protect the nation and citizens” he noted.