The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has announced that soldiers involved in internal security operations detained two ammunition couriers linked to terrorism and 256 other individuals, while also neutralizing 148 terrorists in just one week. Maj Gen Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Operations, shared this information in a statement on Saturday in Abuja. Buba mentioned that the troops rescued 291 hostages, apprehended 51 individuals suspected of oil theft, and confiscated stolen crude oil valued at N798.1 million. He identified the detained ammunition couriers as Danweri and Abubakar Hamza, who were caught in the Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Furthermore, Buba noted that troops seized 146 various weapons and 2,145 rounds of different types of ammunition during the week. The seized weapons consisted of two PKT guns, 72 AK-47 rifles, 33 homemade rifles, 213 Dane guns, and others. The recovered ammunition included 241,245 rounds of 2150mm special ammo, 2,657 rounds of 2470mm NATO, 8,703 rounds of 2870 x 25mm ammo, 2,000 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 25 rounds of 9mm ammo, and 98 live cartridges. Additional items found comprised three Baofeng radios, three vehicles, 36 motorcycles, 53 mobile phones, and cash amounting to N1.8 million. “In the Niger Delta region, troops uncovered and dismantled 66 illegal refining sites, 68 crude oil cooking ovens, 13 dugout pits, 41 boats, and 45 storage tanks,” Buba noted. Recovered items from the area included four speedboats, one pumping machine, 150 drums, one generator, two motorcycles, two mobile phones, one drone, and five vehicles. “Troops also intercepted 657,470 liters of stolen crude oil, 127,870 liters of illegally refined AGO, and 5,000 liters of DPK,” he reported.
