By Anwar Usman
The Defence Headquarters on Saturday said troops arrested about 450 terrorists, bandits, extremists and other criminals across the country last month.
This was disclosed in a statement by Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, the Director of Defence Media Operations, he said 39 terrorists surrendered while 180 civilians were rescued during the operations.
He said 63 arms, 4,475 rounds of ammunition and 294 items including grenades, improvised explosive device materials, handheld radios, motorcycles and vehicles were recovered.
Kangye added that troops of Operation DELTA SAFE foiled oil theft valued at N112,175,220, consisting of 49,321 litres of crude oil, 6,970 litres of automotive gas oil, 1,900 litres of dual-purpose kerosene and 1,475 litres of premium motor spirit.
“For the month of September, about 450 terrorists, bandits, extremists and other criminals were arrested, 39 of them were surrendered, while 180 civilians were rescued. Quantity 63 arms, 4,475 ammunition were recovered, 294 items such as grenades, IED marking materials, handheld radios, motorcycles, vehicles and other items used in perpetrating crimes were also recovered.
“Operation DELTA SAFE foiled oil theft worth N112,175,220.00 representing 49,321 litres of crude oil, 6,970 litres of AGO, 1,900 litres of DPK and 1,475 litres of PMS. 41 Illegal refining sites were also destroyed” the statement reads.
He further stated that, troops also seized automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade tubes, machine guns, locally fabricated guns, live cartridges and assorted ammunition in different operations.
“Overall, troops recovered large quantities of various arms, such as automatic weapons, RPG tubes, machine guns, locally fabricated guns, and improvised explosive devices making material. Also, some cache of live cartridges and assorted ammunition were recovered” the statement concluded.