Troops deployed in theatres of operations across the country had intensified fight against the insurgents and neutralized 2,245 terrorists in the second quarter of this year.
They also arrested 3,682 persons including other criminal elements within the period.
Director, Defence Media Operations,DMO, Major General Edward Buba made this known in Abuja on Thursday while briefing the media on the activities of military operations conducted from April to June 2024.
Troops rescued 1,993 kidnapped hostages within the period
and recovered 2,783 various sizes of weapons, 64,547 ammunitions and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum over N10 bn (N10,533,131,470.00) only.
Breakdown of recovery for the period includes and is not limited to the following : 1,169 AK47 rifles, 36,273 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 14,764 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 713 assorted arms and 9,850 assorted ammo, he added.
“Others are 9,225,149 litres of stolen crude oil, 2,874,916 litres of illegally refined AGO, 29,900 litres of DPK and 31,380 litres of PMS amongst other item”.
Major General Buba said “troops operations are continually assessed in order to make adjustments in our actions, thereby amending our operations to increasingly ensure we minimize civilian casualties.”
He assured that their operations are progressing according to plan and are abide by International laws governing armed conflict.
“Overall, we will do everything within the bounds of the law to make our nation safe for citizens. The military will keep up with the fighting spirit and maintain the stamina in the front lines. Our pride is to risk our life’s, to safe the life’s of our citizens. This is what we do to secure our country,” he added.
According to him, “the resolve of the armed forces is very clear and it is to destroy the terrorist and dismantle their military capabilities in order for citizens to be safe. Accordingly, troops are actively fighting in different forms and retain operational flexibility which gives us the ability to respond to different events and to project forces according to strategic needs.
He reiterated that the military has greatly degraded the terrorist, even though they are still present in the theatres of operation adding that “it would take time and effort to completely destroy these terrorists, particularly as counter insurgency is akin to a marathon not a sprint.”
“It is safe to say that the terrorist have prioritised their military capability over everything else. This is because as our forces advance and clear areas in which these terrorist hibernate, we continue to recover weapons, explosives and IEDs which are indicative of the priorities of the terrorist.”
“Nevertheless, we continue to wipe out the terrorist through synchronised ground and air operations.”