Troops Kill 23 Terrorists, Free 41 Kidnap Victims

The Defence Headquarters has said troops in various operations across the country killed no fewer than 23 terrorists and arrested 137 criminals.

The arrested criminals consist of five kidnappers; 22 oil thieves; one informant among others.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen Edward Buba, in a statement on Friday, said the operations were conducted between August 14 and 25.

He also said 41 kidnapped citizens were rescued in the operations.

It partly read, “The counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations being conducted by troops continue to produce results. Though, the men and women of the armed forces are fighting and dying for the country every day; they have made great strides.

“The military will continue the momentum of its operations by mounting pressure on groups seeking to undermine the security of citizens and the nation.

“The update on the operations across the 6 geopolitical zones as of 25 August 2023, reveals that; the military neutralized 23 terrorists, arrested 109 criminals, 5 kidnappers, one informant, 22 suspected oil thefts, and rescued 41 kidnapped hostages. Additionally, 231 terrorist and their families surrendered to troops comprising 25 adult males, 63 adult females, and 143 children surrendered.”

Buba added that the troops recovered 41 weapons and 300 assorted kinds of ammunition.

“The breakdown of arms and ammunition is as follows; 14 AK47 rifles, one AK49 rifle, two AK47 rifles loaded with 7.62mm special ammo, one PKT gun, one LMG, two pump action guns, two locally fabricated pistols, three locally fabricated rifle, two dane guns, one pistol, and 2 locally made long barrel guns.

“Additionally, troops recovered are one AK47 rifle loaded with 30 rounds of 7.62mm special, one AK47 magazine, one magazine loaded with 30 rounds of 7.62mm special, 239 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, five rounds of 7.62 NATO, 44 rounds of PKT, five rounds of 9mm ammo and six cartridges. Furthermore, troops recovered 13 motorcycles, 22 mobile phones, one bicycle, 10 machetes, a pair of camouflage, ” the statement added.

In the South-South, he added that troops recovered over 682,400 litres of stolen crude oil.

“The operations in the South-South geopolitical zone resulted in the arrest of the following; 682,400 litres of stolen crude oil, 70,950 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 23,250 litres of DPK. All amounting to an estimated sum of N414,396.250 denied to the oil thieves,” he said.

He, however, revealed that 231 terrorists and their family members surrendered to troops, adding that one of the abducted Chibok School girls was among them.

“Troops of Operation HADIN KAI’s offensive operations led to the surrender of terrorists and their family members with one of the missing Chibok School girls amongst them. The surrounding occurred in Dikwa and Gwoza LGAs of Borno State.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that one of the adult females is Mary Nkeki, a missing Chibok School girl in Ser No 55 Chibok Girls poster. The identified missing Chibok School girl was evacuated to 7 DMSH for further action.”

Punch