Major General Edward Buba the Director of Media Operations at the Defence Headquarters in media briefing in Abuja explained that the Celebration and Remembrance of the fallen heroes is a stack reminder that they have not died in vain. That the life of any personnel lost in battle contributes to making the nation safer.
The military is committed to winning the war against terrorists and insurgency across the country. This is demonstrated as troops are fighting with great effort, determination and sacrifice to bring about great results. It is in light of the above that, during the period under review, troops neutralised 156 and arrested 464 persons. Troops also arrested 29 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 181 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Six Hundred and Twenty Three Million Four Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand Three Hundred and Ninty Naira (N623,447,390.00) only.
Furthermore, troops recovered 219 assorted weapons and 2,871 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: one GPMG, 68 AK47 rifles, one AK56 rifle, 12 fabricated rifles, 4 FN rifles, 4 dane guns, 7 pump action guns, one foreign double barrel gun, 9 fabricated IEDs, 18 FN grenades, 6 RPG bombs, 27 magazines, 4 IEDs and making materials. Others are: 1,618 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 676 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 16 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammo, 68 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 317 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 73 rounds of 12.7mm ammo, 175 rounds of PKT ammo, one box of 12.7mm ammo, 25 live cartridges, one baofeng radio, 10 vehicles, 42 motorcycles, 29 mobile phones amongst other items.
Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 48 crude oil cooking ovens, 10 dugout pits, 56 storage tanks and 46 illegal refining sites. Troops also recovered 705,294 litres of stolen crude oil, 6,865 litres of illegally refined AGO, 1,500 litres of DPK and 800 litres of PMS. Other items recovered include 28 boats,8 pumping machines and 6 speedboats. Additional are:3 outboard engines, 6 drums, 8 motorcycles, one mobile phone and 8 vehicles among others.
Buba emphasized that the military is profoundly conscious of its role and responsibility in ending insurgency and terrorism in the nation. Accordingly, troops are thwarting and eliminating forms of resurgent terror attacks in the North-West and North-East, caused by influx of foreign fighters from the Sahelian Region. Though troops might record occasional tactical setbacks which is common place in any threatre of war. That the troops strategic objective of breaking the terrorist will to fight remains resolute and unhindered.
He then concluded that citizens are urged to embrace security as every bodies business and not that of the military. Accordingly, citizens must not compromise on security, otherwise everyone's security is compromised.