Military Eliminates 74 Terrorists, Foils Oil Theft Worth N1.8bn, Others

By Chimezie Godfrey

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Abuja says troops have eliminated 74 terrorists, 130 suspected criminals and foiled oil theft estimated to the tune of about N1.8 billion naira.

This was made known by the Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Maj-Gen Marcus Kangye made this known on Thursday in Abuja.

He said,”For instance, between 5 February – 13 March 2025, a total of 74 terrorists were neutralized while 130 suspected others were arrested. Troops also apprehended 31 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 61 kidnapped hostages.

“During the week under review, land component of the Armed Forces conducted joint operations with the ONSA Team, security agencies and hybrid forces. These operations include; fighting and confidence building patrols, raids, ambushes and clearance as well as search and rescue operations.

“In the cause of the operations, they neutralized several terrorists, apprehended their collaborators, rescued kidnapped victims and received surrendered terrorists. Gunrunners, oil theft collaborators and other violent extremists were also apprehended. The air component also, conducted several close air support, armed reconnaissance patrols as well as air interdiction missions.

“For instance, between 5 February – 13 March 2025, a total of 74 terrorists were neutralized while 130 suspected others were arrested. Troops also apprehended 31 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 61 kidnapped hostages.”

He added,”In the South South, troops foiled oil theft estimated to the tune of about One Billion, Eight Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Nine Hundred and One Naira (N1,008,750,901.00) only.The breakdown includes: 675,266 litres of stolen crude oil, 312,593 litres of illegally refined AGO and 4,500 litres of DPK.

“Additionally, troops discovered and destroyed 51 crude oil cooking ovens, 49 dugout pits, 43 boats, 28 storage tanks, 131 drums and 56 illegal refining sites. Other items recovered include 4 pumping machines, 4 tricycles, 3 motorcycles, 7 mobile phones and 8 vehicles amongst others.”

Gen. Kangye also revealed that troops recovered 71 and 1,289 assorted weapons and ammunition respectively.

“In a related development, troops recovered 71 and 1,289 assorted weapons and ammunition respectively. These includes, 32 AK47 rifles, 15 locally fabricated guns, 9 dane guns, 3 pump action guns, 2 locally fabricated pistols and 10 other assorted arms. They also recovered 1,133 assorted rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 69 live cartridges,” he said.

The DDMO further revealed that several terrorist and their families surrendered to troops, among other notable achievement.

He noted that the laudable achievements made by the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) was through the resilience of various military operations across the country which include Operation Hadin Kai, Operation Fansan Yamma, Operation Whirl Stroke, Operation Safe Haven, Delta Safe, and Operation UDO KA among others.

Gen. Kangye assured that the gallant men and women of the AFN would continue to carry out their constitutional responsibilities of protecting lives and properties of all Nigerians in line with “our constitutional roles, Rules of Engagement and Code of Conduct for Internal Security Operations”.