The newly appointed Director, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General Markus Kangye held his first biweekly press briefing at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, on Thursday, as he reeled out successes so far recorded by the military.
Major General Kangye took over from Major General Edward Buba who has been assigned another responsibility by the military authority.
During his maiden briefing on troops operational successes across various theaters of operations in the week under review, General Kangye revealed that between 3 January – 13 February 2025, troops killed 75 terrorists, arrested 138, apprehended 36 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 46 kidnapped hostages.
He also stated that in the cause of these operations, surrendered terrorists. Gunrunners, oil theft collaborators and other violent extremists were also apprehended.
The air component also conducted several close air supports, armed reconnaissance patrols as well as air interdiction.”
Noting that, “Between n the SS, troops foiled oil theft estimated to the tune of about N646,189,690.00 only.”
The breakdown includes 497,152 litres of stolen crude oil, 142,000 litres of illegally refined AGO and 4,075 litres of PMS. Additionally, troops discovered and destroyed 164 crude oil cooking ovens, 37 dugout pits, 19 boats, 16 storage tanks, 38 drums and 42 illegal refining sites.
Other items recovered include “3 pumping machines, 4 tricycles, 7 motorcycles, 5 mobile phones and 3 vehicles among others.”
In a related development, General Kangye stressed that troops recovered 104 and 2,639 assorted weapons and ammunition respectively.
These include 55 AK47 rifles, 20 locally fabricated guns, 8 dane guns, 18 pump action.
