Nigerian troops arrested about 450 suspected terrorists, bandits, extremists and other criminals across the country in September, the Defence Headquarters said on Saturday.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, said in a statement:
“For the month of September, about 450 terrorists, bandits, extremists and other criminals were arrested, 39 of them surrendered, while 180 civilians were rescued.
“Quantity 63 arms, 4,475 ammunition were recovered, 294 items such as grenades, IED marking materials, handheld radios, motorcycles, vehicles and other items used in perpetrating crimes were also recovered.”
He added:
“Operation Delta Safe foiled oil theft worth ₦112,175,220, representing 49,321 litres of crude oil, 6,970 litres of AGO, 1,900 litres of DPK and 1,475 litres of PMS. Forty-one illegal refining sites were also destroyed.”
Read Also: Bandits Abduct Policeman in Kwara as Insecurity Escalates
Kangye also said:
“Overall, troops recovered large quantities of various arms, such as automatic weapons, RPG tubes, machine guns, locally fabricated guns, and improvised explosive devices making material. Also, some cache of live cartridges and assorted ammunition were recovered.”
On operations in the North-East, he noted:
“Our ground forces in conjunction with the Air Component and Hybrid forces as well as local security groups conducted aggressive operations across the theatre. Their effort led to the elimination of several terrorists, their logistics suppliers, recovery of weapons, dismantling of their networks and support for safe resettlement of displaced persons and unimpeded farming activities.”
The military said counterinsurgency and anti-crime operations are ongoing nationwide under different theatres, including Operation Hadin Kai in the North-East, Operation Whirl Stroke in the North-Central, and Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta.
