Insecurity: Troops hunting down prominent terrorist leadership — DHQ

The Military High Command announced on Friday that the Armed Forces are actively pursuing prominent terrorist leadership, engaging them wherever they are hiding in the country.

It was emphasised that the ongoing operations against terrorists and insecurity across the nation are a critical conflict that must be decisively won.

This information was disclosed in a statement released to defence correspondents in Abuja on Friday by Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations.

The statement provided details on the ongoing military operational activities conducted by the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies in the various theatres of operations across the six geopolitical zones of the country as of December 15 of this year.

According to the statement, “The ongoing operations against terrorists and insecurity across the country are a war in which the military has no choice but to win, and we are winning the war.

“The armed forces are hunting down prominent terrorist leaders and engaging them wherever they are hiding. These operations are being conducted by the laws of armed conflict and based on intelligence.

“The ongoing operations are also based on both military necessity and distinguishing between civilians, noncombatants, and terrorists. The military will continue to take the fight to the terrorists and their cohorts until they are destroyed or surrendered.”.

The statement revealed that during the week in focus, air assets conducted aggressive air flights on confirmed locations active with the movement of terrorist commanders and their foot soldiers. Strikes carried out resulted in the arrest of over 38 terrorist commanders and their foot soldiers, while 159 of them were arrested.

According to it, “Recently, the military conducted two major air strikes on a terrorist enclave. One of the strikes, on December 6, neutralised several top terrorist commanders. Namely, one Machika, a top terrorist bomb expert and the younger brother of notorious terrorist Dogo Gide.

Other prominent terrorist leaders neutralised include Haro and Dan Muhammadu, both of whom are specialists in kidnapping and assault operations, respectively.

“In addition, on December 23, through a synchronised strike between air and ground forces aimed at the same target, a renowned terrorist leader responsible for the abduction of the students of Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, Ali Alhaji Alheri, popularly called Kachalla Ali KAWAJE, was neutralised in Munya LGA of Niger State along with many of his foot soldiers.

“The military is fast closing in on others, and they will equally suffer the same fate.”

The statement further added that in the ” South East, on December 13, 2023, troops, in conjunction with other security agencies, apprehended a prominent commander of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

“The commander, one Mr. Uchechukwu Akpa, was arrested together with three other sub-commanders, namely Udoka Anthony Ude, Ikechukwu Ulanta, and Ezennaya Udeigewere.

“The trio were arrested after a raid on their hideout at Christ the King Catholic Church, Ameta Mgbowo, in the Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

They gathered to plot to take over the leadership of the IPOB/ESN Auto Pilot Command Enugu State Chapter from the apprehended former commander known as “Chocho.”. They also planned to attack troop locations.

“During the raid, Mr. Uchechukwu Akpa sustained a gunshot wound while trying to escape. It could be recalled that Mr Uchechukwu Akpa was the second in command of Chocho, a notorious IPOB/ESN leader currently in custody. Subsequently, another raid connected with the arrest was conducted on December 14, 2023

It added that during the operations, “Troops recovered one AK 47 rifle, two AK 47 magazines, 25 rounds of 7.62mm NATO special ammunition, and one pump action rifle.

It stated that the operations of the week in focus equally resulted in the arrest of 66 perpetrators of oil theft and the rescue of 89 kidnapped hostages. In the SS, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of one hundred and sixty-one million, two hundred and thirty-two thousand five hundred naira (N161,232,500.00) only.

According to it, “Furthermore, troops recovered 67 assorted weapons and 1,194 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 20 AK47 rifles, 4 pump action guns, 5 locally fabricated rifles, 2 locally fabricated double barrel guns, one barreta pistol, 4 locally made pistols, 13 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 1,152 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 13 rounds of 9mm ammo, one round of 5.56mm ammo, and 15 live cartridges.

“The others are one magazine loaded with 8 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo; one LMG magazine; one CZ pistol magazine; 7 empty magazines; one locally made pistol magazine; one damaged magazine; one Danish gun butt; 5 vehicles; 14 mobile phones; 32 motorcycles; one laptop; and the sum of N1,123,800.00, amongst other items.

It added that the troops in the Niger Delta area destroyed 15 dugout pits, 25 boats, 74 storage tanks, 14 vehicles, 115 cooking ovens, 13 reservoirs, 10 cooling systems, 10 receivers, 3 pumping machines, and 64 illegal refining sites. while the troops also recovered 357,350 litres of stolen crude oil, 185,300 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 20,600 litres of PMS.

While insisting that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) are winning the war and have the upper hand., the statement declared that the ongoing operations would only be completed once the terrorists surrendered or were defeated”.

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