43 Oil Thieves Are Arrested, 94 Terrorists Killed – DHQ

No fewer than 94 terrorists were slain by troops in various operations carried out across the northern part of the country between January 17 and 25, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

According to the report, the operations resulted in the recovery of N485 million worth of crude oil in the South-South and the arrest of 171 terrorists in the North as well as 43 suspected oil thieves.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, while briefing journalists on the activities of troops within the period under review.

He said, “During the week under review, troops neutralised 94 and arrested 171 of them. Troops also arrested 43 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 29 kidnapped hostages. In the South-South, troops denied oil thieves crude oil valued at N485,983,150.”

He said troops recovered 168 assorted weapons and 2,757 assorted ammunition during the various operations.

“The breakdown is as follows: one GPMG, 85 AK-47 rifles, one Vektor R4 rifle, one G3 rifle, 10 pump-action guns, 12 locally-fabricated guns, six locally-made pistols, 21 Dane guns, one double-barrel gun, one fabricated revolver rifle, 2 x 36 hand grenades, and one fabricated dane gun,” DHQ spokesman said.

In the South-South operations, Buba said troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 16 dugout pits, 51 boats, 49 storage tanks, and three vehicles.

Thirty-one illicit refining sites, three pumping machines, and 38 cooking ovens were among the other items found. He said, “Troops seized 5,200 liters of PMS, 198,315 liters of illicitly refined AGO, and 363,875 liters of stolen crude oil.