- 19 Suspected Oil Thieves Arrested, 49 Kidnap Victims Rescued
Nigerian Army troops have killed at least 50 terrorists in various ongoing military operations around the country.
Major General Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, told media at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday that 114 suspected insurgents had been apprehended.
He explained that within a week, 19 suspected oil thieves were apprehended, and the army also rescued 49 kidnap victims.
“Our operations in the last week resulted in 50 neutralised terrorists while 114 of them were arrested. Troops also arrested 19 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 49 kidnapped hostages.
“In the South-South region, troops denied oil thefts of the estimated sum of over N968 million. Furthermore, troops recovered 65 assorted weapons and 400 assorted ammunition,” Buba said.
He stated that troops of Operation Delta Safe uncovered and deactivated 53 illegal refining sites, recovered stolen products, pledging that momentum against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region will be sustained.
The defence spokesman said troops discovered and destroyed 54 dugout pits, 66 boats, 138 storage tanks, 253 cooking ovens, two pumping machines, eight speedboats, 17 hoses, 18 drums and two cylinders.
Also recovered were 983,350 litres of stolen crude oil, 144,980 litres of illegally refined AGO and 71,650 litres of DPK.
In the South-East, Buba said the troops of operation UDO KA conducted snap operation and arrested suspected IPOB/ESN in the Ikwo and the Okigwe Local Government Areas of Ebonyi and Imo States during the week.
He stated the troops neutralised five terrorists, arrested 12 suspected criminals and rescued seven kidnapped hostages.
