By ZAKAA LAZARUS-Abuja.
The Military High Command (DHQ) has confirmed that troops arrested three terrorists leaders alongside 269 others while 212 criminals were neutralized in one week.
Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba disclosed this in a statement, said the terrorist leaders were arrested in North-Central, North-West theatres of operations and rescued 152 hostages.
Major General Buba said two of the terrorist leaders identified as Hamisu Sale (aka Master) and Abubakar Muhammad were arrested during separate operations conducted in North-Central theatre of operation.
“The duo are cooperating and providing valuable intelligence on the terror network,” he said.
Buba said another high-profile and notorious terrorist identified as Bako Wurgi was arrested in the North-West.
According to the statement, the arrested terror leader Wurgi is linked to the murder of a Sokoto monarch and a staunch ally of wanted renowned terrorist Bello Turji.
“The arrested terrorist leader, Bako Wurgi, eventually succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained during the fire fight.
He nevertheless provided valuable intelligence to support troops operations before he died,” he added.
Overall, Buba said troops during the week neutralised 212 and arrested 272 persons.
General Buba stressed that the troops also arrested 45 suspected oil thieves and recovered stolen crude worth N1,193,817,760.00 only.
He stated further that troops recovered 247 assorted weapons and 6,174 assorted ammunition within the week.
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He gave a breakdown of recovered weapons as two RPG UXO4, 110 AK47 rifles, 56 fabricated rifles, 36 dane guns, 2 FN rifles, two baretta pistols, 15 locally made pistols, two revolver pistols, 12 pump action guns, two double barrel guns, one single barrel gun, one RPG bomb, one RPG tube, two exploded RPG chargers, one PKM link, one link of GPMG and 70 AK47 magazines.
Others include 3,235 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,583 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 130 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammo, 400 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 92 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 107 rounds of 9mm ammo, 311 live cartridges, one FN magazine, 3 bandoliers, five baofeng radios, eight vehicles, 51 motorcycles and 103 mobile phones, amongst other items.
Meanwhile, in the Niger Delta area, troops discovered and destroyed 61 illegal refining sites, 35 crude oil cooking ovens, 27 dugout pits, 35 boats, and 51 storage tanks.
Other items recovered include five speedboats, five receivers, 59 drums, three motorcycles, three mobile phones and eight vehicles, among others.
Troops also recovered 940,372 litres of stolen crude oil, 252,000 litres of illegally refined AGO and 132 litres of PMS.
He assured that troops are bent on achieving sustainable peace in the nation by ensuring that terrorists are held account for any act of aggression against citizens.
