Pix: Gen. Christopher Musa, Chief of DefenceStaff

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says troops of the Nigerian Army killed 82 “terrorists”, arrested 198 suspects, and rescued 93 hostages.

Giving an update in Abuja on Friday, Markus Kangye, the director of defence media operations, said the troops also recovered 152 assorted arms and ammunition as well as five magazines, among others.

Kangye said troops recovered 86 and 2,040 assorted weapons and ammunition, comprising 46 AK-47 rifles, 18 locally fabricated guns, 19 dane guns, three pump-action guns, 1,165 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammo, and 128 rounds of 7.62 mm NATO.

He said troops also recovered 600 rounds of 7.62 x 12.7 mm ammo, 51 cartridges, three assorted arms, and 96 assorted ammunition.

He added that the troops apprehended 22 perpetrators of oil theft in the south-south region and foiled crude oil theft estimated to the tune of about N587 million.

According to him, the breakdown includes 366,530 litres of stolen crude oil, 117,320 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 600 litres of DPK.

“Additionally, troops discovered and destroyed 38 crude oil cooking ovens, 27 dugout pits, 22 boats, two speedboats, 60 storage tanks, 34 drums, and 32 illegal refining sites,” he said.

“Other items recovered include three pumping machines, one tricycle, three motorcycles, five mobile phones, and two vehicles, among others.”

The defence spokesperson said the troops of operation HADIN KAI recorded the surrender of 41 terrorists comprising 10 adult males, 12 adult females, and 19 children within the north-east theatre of operation.

He said the terrorists surrendered with one PKT gun, one AK-47 rifle with two magazines, one AK-101 rifle with two magazines, 135 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 59 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, and 28 rounds of 5.56mm ammo.