*Military recovers over N700m from oil theft activities in 1 week
With barely 12 hours to the tension soaked off cycle governorship election in Edo state, the Nigerian military authorities have assured that its personnel would be deployed to Edo state to ensure peaceful conduct of the exercise.
The election is expected to hold on Saturday(tomorrow) September21, 2024. Anxiety has been heightened in the past few weeks preceding the election’s date as electioneering campaigns by the candidates of the three main political parties raised the stake for the race.
Assuring voters of their safety and protection, the armed forces of Nigeria on Friday said, “troops are strategically deployed to ensure that the off-cycle Governorship election scheduled for 21 Sep 24 in Edo State is violence free, fair and credible. Troops’ role is to support the police to ensure voters safety and security”.
“Accordingly, troops presence is to thwart the activities of those elements bent on fermenting crisis during the elections”, it stressed.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Director of Defence Media Operations (DMO), Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, on Friday.
Buba in the press release on the update of the ongoing military operations in the country in the last one week, also informed that the operations have degraded the terrorists.
“The operations are yielding desired results as troops dismantle terrorist network and decimate their leadership and combatants. Indeed, several of the terrorist leaders and commanders have been eliminated from the battlefield”, the director stated.
According to him, the military is taking resolute steps in ending terrorism and insecurity in the country, through ongoing operations.
Buba explains, “During the week under review, troops neutralised 159 and arrested 174 persons.
Troops also arrested 45 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 188 kidnapped hostages.
“In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Seven Hundred and Thirty-Six Million Nine Hundred and Seventy-One Thousand Four Hundred and Fifty Naira (N736,971,450.00) only.
“Furthermore, troops recovered 151 assorted weapons and 12,401 assorted ammunition.
“The breakdown as follows: 3 PKT guns, one SLR, 92 AK47 rifles, 25 fabricated rifles, 15 dane guns, 4 pump action guns, 4 locally made pistols, one pistol, 2 RPG tubes, one RPG bomb, 66 AK47 magazines, one FN magazine, 2 locally fabricated hand grenades.
“Others are: 10,346 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,094 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 92 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 479 rounds of PKT ammo, 182 rounds of MG ammo, 43 rounds of 9.5mm ammo, 12 rounds of 9mm ammo, 35 live cartridges, 35 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo, 2 baofeng radios, 15 vehicles, 39 motorcycles, 28 mobile phones and the sum of N5,386,200.00 only amongst other items.
Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 9 dugout pits, 35 boats, 4 speedboats, 32 drums and 57 storage tanks.
“Other items recovered include 20 cooking ovens, one pumping machine, 14 vehicles, one motorcycles, one tricycle, 10 mobile phones and 71 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 788,400 litres of stolen crude oil, 28,995 litres of illegally refined AGO, 300 litres of DPK and 3,000 litres of PMS.
“Our operations against the terrorist and violent extremist remains aimed at providing security and stability for the nation and citizens.
“Troops will therefore continue to be relentless in pursuit of ending all forms of insecurity across the country”.
