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In a media briefing at the Defence Headquarters, Major-General Edward Buba the Director of Defence Media Operations reeled out major achievements of the arm forces.
He explained that the armed forces is very clear on the destruction of terrorist and the dismantling of their military capabilities in order for citizens to be safe. That troops are actively fighting in different forms and retain operational flexibility which gave them the ability to respond to different events and to project forces according to strategic needs.
Buba continued that the military has greatly degraded the terrorist, even though they are still present in the theatres of operation 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 the arm forces advance and clear areas in which these terrorist hibernate, that they continue to recover weapons, explosives and IEDs which are indicative of the priorities of the terrorist. Though , they continue to wipe out the terrorist through synchronised ground and air operations.
He therefore reeled out achievements of the armed forces during the second quarter of this year which are as follows:- troops neutralized 2,245 terrorists, arrested 3,682 suspected terrorists and other criminal elements as well as rescued 1,993 kidnapped hostages. Furthermore, troops recovered 2,783 weapons, 64,547 ammunitions and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum over ten billion Naira only.
That the breakdown for these 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. 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.
The General elaborated that troops operations are continually assessed in order to make adjustments in their actions, thereby amending their operations to increasingly ensure the forces minimize civilian casualties. Their operations are progressing according to plan as they abide to International laws governing armed conflict.
He concluded that the military will do everything within the bounds of the law to make Nigeria safe. The military will keep up with the fighting spirit and maintain the stamina in the frontlines. "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" Buba said.
