By Zakaa Lazarus, Abuja.
Defence Headquarters says it has deployed in strength personnel for the election in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa states to emplace a safe environment for voters to come out and cast their voters.
The Military also said it’s aware of plans by some criminal elements to disguise in military gear to orchestrate havoc and disrupt elections in some areas and warned against such acts.
This was made known to Defence Correspondents by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba at a bi-weekly press briefing at the Defence Headquarters on Thursday in Abuja.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters said it’s have also neutralized over 133 terrorists and also arrested 300 criminals across it’s theater of operations across the country in one week.
Buba said troops also arrested 25 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 91 kidnapped hostages.
In the South-south, he said troops denied oil theft of the estimated sum of Five Hundred and Seventy One Million Seven Hundred and Ninety Three Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty Naira (N571,793,350.00) only.
Gen Buba said troops recovered 129 assorted weapons and 717 assorted ammunition.
“The breakdown as follows: one Unserviceable AA gun, one RPG tube, 5 RPG bombs, one GT3 rifle, 54 AK47 rifles, 8 locally fabricated rifles, one locally made rifle, 2 pistols, 2 pump action guns, 2 dane guns, 4 locally fabricated pistol, 3 skeleton of AK47 rifles, 9 hand grenades, one unserviceable AK47 rifle, 14 magazines, 321 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 40 live cartridges.
“Others are: 53 rounds of 5.45mm x 39mm ammo, 35 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 100 rounds of short gun, 11 rifle body, 7 breech block, 7 rifle butts, 8 rifle muzzles, 9 piston assembles, 210 springs, one drilling machine, hand filling machines, 10 magazine purges, IED making materials, 4 boafeng radios, 15 motorcycles, 20 mobile phones and the sum of N348,200.00 amongst other items.
‘ Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 76 dugout pits, 35 boats, 95 storage tanks, 10 vehicles, 129 cooking ovens, 5 pumping machine, 13 speedboats, 6 outboard engine, one vessel, 3 motorcycles and 49 illegal refining sites.
” Troops recovered 514,640 litres of stolen crude oil, 339,315 litres of illegally refined AGO and 775 litres of DPK.
” It is important to highlight that the AFN is a discipline and well trained force that conducts its operation within the ampit of laws governing human rights and that of armed conflict. We have rules of engagement that are followed in the course of our actions. Nevertheless, there are standing court martials to put on trial any erring personnel that is found wanting during operations, Buba added .
