Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has drawn the attention of the Citizens that terrorists are the Nation’s enemies that must be fought and defeated squarely.

These were made known on Thursday 11th July, 2024 by the Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba during a Press Conference at the Defence Headquarters on the ongoing Military operations by the Armed Forces. He said the Terrorists are responsible for keeping the nation in an almost constant state of counter terrorism and counter insurgency.

He said the military is keeping up the pressure through ongoing operations in five active theatres across the country.
He stated that these operations are complex as troops are engaged in fighting in difficult terrains as well as fighting an adversaries that adopts various forms, across the country.

He said “Clearly, we have boots on the ground and are fighting in several dimensions to crush the enemy.
“Indeed, troops are fighting on ground, air, at sea as well as in the cyber dimension in several parts of the country. The common denominator in all our operations are the terrorist”

He hinted that during the week under review, troops neutralised 187 and arrested 183 persons. He averred that troops also arrested 26 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 109 kidnapped hostages.
In the South South he said troops denied criminal elements oil theft of the estimated sum of One Billion One Hundred and Twenty Seven Million Two Hundred and Twenty Nine Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninty Naira (N1,127,229,890.00) only.

He also stated that troops recovered 128 assorted weapons and 3,300 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: one PKT gun, 80 AK47 rifles, 15 locally fabricated gun, 15 dane guns, 2 FN rifles, 5 pump action guns, 2 single barrel guns, 4 locally fabricated pistols, one fabricated barretta pistol, one locally made double barrel gun, 2 hand grenades, 2 primed IEDs and materials.
Others he said include: 1,941 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 729 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 377 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 191 rounds of 5.55mm ammo, 199 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 16 rounds of 9mm ammo, 26 live cartridges, 26 empty case of cartridges, 26 AK47 magazines, 6 baofeng radios, 10 vehicles, 4 motorcycles, 4 walkie-talkie, mobile phones and the sum of N102,010.00 only amongst other items.

In his words “Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 18 dugout pits, 30 boats and 49 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 66 cooking ovens, 4 drums, 5 speedboats, 15 vehicles, 2 tricycles, one generator, 11 mobile phones and 57 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 1,l25,440 litres of stolen crude oil, 213,539 litres of illegally refined AGO and 1,230 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

“Troops are confronted by vicious enemies that are constantly trying to kill citizens or have killed citizens. Indeed, these terror group are responsible for perpetrating insecurity across the country and will not stop doing what the are doing, until they are stopped.
“We are aware of some of the plans to target some critical infrastructure in the country. Accordingly, we have emplaced measures to forestall such plans. Security agencies responsible for securing critical infrastructure and facilities have also been placed on alert. Accordingly, some of such plans have been frustrated.
“In this fight, citizens must understand that, we must never compromise on security, otherwise everyone’s security will be compromised. This is a situation that cannot be over emphasized for us to live in safety and security.
“Meanwhile, the military is doing what is needed at this time. We force the terrorist to pay a price for every act of aggression against citizens of this country. We recognise and have included this as part of our strategy to win the war.
“Overall, we have no choice but to fight for the safety and security of our citizens. We also fight to safeguard our nation and preserve our way of life as a people. For us a force, Defence is the essence of what we do as an armed forces. Accordingly, we would defeat the terrorists on the battlefield and help our nation flourish again”

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Defence Headquarters Say Terrorists are Enemies that Must be Fought and Defeated