From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The Defence Head Quarters has confirmed that the operational activities by the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the last week across the country have neutralized 106 terrorists, arrested 164 suspects and rescued 103 kidnapped hostages.
The military troops also arrested 32 perpetrators of oil theft and denied them of estimated sum of seven hundred and ninety-three million five hundred and thirty-six thousand naira (N793,536,000.00).
Briefing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja on the ongoing operational activities by the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Director, of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba said that as of 25th July 2024, troops further record over 125 assorted weapons and 1,522 assorted ammunitions.
He said the ongoing multi-front military operations are focused on targeting the centre of gravity of terrorist and their cohorts across the country.
Accordingly, he said the troops are finding them, flushing them out and dismantling their military, administrative and logistics capabilities across the various theatres.
According to Major General Buba, the operations are going in an upward trajectory, even as they prioritised targeting the terrorist leaders, commanders, foot soldiers as well as their collaborators. Saying that many of these categories of terrorists have been eliminated from the battlefield and they are after the others.
He explained that troops are not resting on their oars, but are persistent in exerting significant military pressure to defeat terrorist and their cohorts in the North East, North West, and North Central Zones.
In the South East Zone, troops sustained the momentum against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and their armed Eastern Security Network (ESN) cohorts. While, in the South South Zone, troops continued to battle perpetrators of crude oil theft.
In battling the perpetrators of crude oil theft, troops have established a unified command structure for security operating in the region. Additionally, he said they are examining other areas such as transparency of IOCs, credible metering of oil wells and the tracking of point of loading to the destination of the crude oil.
Explaining further he said “During the week under review, troops neutralised 106 and arrested 164 persons. Troops also arrested 32 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 103 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Seven Hundred and Ninety-Three Million Five Hundred and Thirty-Six Thousand Naira (N793,536,000.00) only.
“Furthermore, troops recovered 125 assorted weapons and 1,522 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 41 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 24 locally fabricated guns, 28 Dane guns, one pump action gun, 755 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 623 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 102 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 63 live cartridges, 247 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo, 22 AK47 magazines, one baofeng radio, 22 vehicles, 31 motorcycles, 2 bicycles, 10 mobile phones and the sum of N2,956,000.00 only amongst other items.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 20 dugout pits, 24 boats and 34 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 56 cooking ovens, 2 speedboats, 14 pumping machines, 18 drums, 22 vehicles, 4 motorcycles and 36 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 802,200 litres of stolen crude oil, 121,900 litres of illegally refined AGO and 450 litres of DPK.”
About the planned nationwide protest scheduled to be held on the first day of August across the country, he noted that there are essentially several factors to be thoroughly examined some of which he said is whether or not the planned protest is motivated by opposition politics, independent parties, sovereign interference, terrorist groups or any numbers of organizations that have fed on the frustrations of Nigerians to create the situation.
General Edward however said for them in the military, the constitution is clear as to how and when the military gets involved.
The constitution also clearly defines the roles and functions of the armed forces. On the other hand, while citizens have a constitutional right to peaceful protest, they do not have a right to mobilise for anarchy to unleash terror.
He observed that the contemporary context of the planned protest is to shadow happenings in Kenya which have so far been violent and unresolved to date.
“Given the situation, there are already indicators that, unscrupulous elements are bent on hijacking the planned protest for violent purposes.
“For instance, there are signs of status-related violence such that persons with things as basic as a smartphone and car are targets. This does not leave out those who own a house, shop, or even use air conditioners in their houses.
“Other targets include; places of worship, businesses, markets, persons of other ethnic groups and members of opposing political parties among others,” he added.
He assured that the Armed Forces would not fold their hands or watch and allow the nation to spiral out of control to such low levels. Warning that the military will act dutifully to forestall such ugly occurrences from happening in our nation.
“Based on the foregoing, the level of violence envisaged is best described as a state of anarchy. It is for this reason the armed forces will not watch and allow the nation to spiral out of control to such low levels.
“The military has been exposed to wars and has witnessed situations of anarchy in countries ravaged by war, particularly during ECOMOG or during peacekeeping operations. It is for this reason that troops will act dutifully to forestall such ugly occurrences from happening in our nation.
“On the whole, citizens are urged to note that, both the timing and the atmosphere of hardship in the country make the planned protest different from others in the past. It is therefore incumbent upon us all, to quench the fires of violence rather than ignite them.
“It is time to let, cool heads prevail for government to further remedy the situation and make our nation flourish again,” he further warned.
