By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
Defence Headquarters says troops will continue to respond with overwhelming military force against any group or persons that threaten the safety of citizens and that its forces are strategically deployed across the country to conduct operations aimed at curtailing the activities of violent extremist groups fomenting insecurity in the country.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba who disclosed this at the biweekly press briefing on ongoing military operations across the federation, said the men and women of the armed forces will continue to put themselves in harms ways, time and time again, to protect the nation.
According to him, during the week leading to today, the military neutralized 28 terrorists, arrested 92 terrorists, six gunrunners, three kidnappers, six collaborators, and seven perpetrators of oil theft.
He further stated that troops also rescued 82 kidnapped hostages and denied oil thieves the sum of Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six Million, Four Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand, Eight Hundred Naira, (N876, 451, 800), adding that overall, troops recovered 108 weapons and 564 ammunitions.
Major General Buba also noted that troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 36 dugout pits, 62 wooden boats, 73 storage tanks, one vehicle and 75 cooking ovens including four pumping machines, five outboard engines and 33 illegal refining sites among others.
He reaffirmed that the armed forces possess the power and will hunt down those that wish to bring harm on the citizenry, adding that the ongoing operation is a clear message to those that question the resolve of the military.
