General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Staff

The Defence Headquarters has said troops deployed for counter-terrorism operations killed a total of 572 terrorists and arrested 790 in July.

The DHQ also said a total of 479 kidnapped victims were rescued across the country.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

Buba stated that within the period, troops recovered stolen crude, which was estimated to be over N3 billion.

He said, “Overall, in July 2024, troops neutralized 572 terrorists, arrested 790 suspected terrorists and other criminal elements as well as rescued 479 kidnapped hostages.

“Additionally, troops recovered 440 weapons, 10,589 ammunition and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum of N3,652,382,080.00 only.”

Buba noted that 440 firearms and 10,589 ammunition were recovered from criminal elements across the country.

He said, “The breakdown of recoveries in the month of July includes and is not limited to the following: 232 AK47 rifles, 93 locally fabricated guns, 82 Dane guns, 32 pump action guns, 5,041 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 2,768 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 659 cartridges, 63 assorted arms and 2,259 assorted ammunitions. Others are 3,650,080 litres of stolen crude oil, 625,518 litres of illegally refined AGO, 450 litres of DPK and 1,230 litres of PMS amongst other items.

“The military remains committed and strong to its mission of defending the country and protecting citizens. Citizens are urged not to compromise on security; otherwise, everyone’s security is compromised.