The Nigerian military has recovered an estimated N68bn from oil thieves and 8,815 weapons from criminals across the country in the past 12 months.
The Defence Headquarters revealed in a press briefing on Tuesday that its troops also recovered a total of 228,004 rounds of ammunition in the period under review.
The military said that during the year, its troops eliminated over “a thousand notable terrorist leaders, commanders and combatants.”
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj .-Gen., Edward Buba, while speaking to the press disclosed that during the year, troops killed 10,937 terrorists, arrested 12,538 and rescued 7,063 hostages.
Buba identified some of the terrorists killed this year to include Dutse Mainasara Idda, Mallam Saleh Umaru, Mohammed Amadu and Chinemerem (aka Bam Bam).
Others are Jeremiah Uzuoma (aka Escoba), Tochukwu Awo (aka Ojoto) and Egwuatu amongst others.
Buba further gave a breakdown of the weapons and ammunition recovered from criminals across the country.
The breakdown of the recoveries are as follows: 4,332 AK47 rifles, 1,244 locally fabricated guns, 838 Dane guns, 259 pump action guns, 128,496 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 45,445 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 5,103 cartridges, 2,131 assorted arms and 29,176 assorted ammunitions.
Others are: 56,223,002 litres of stolen crude oil, 9,735,836 litres of illegally refined AGO, 95,595 litres of DPK and 156,527 litres of PMS amongst other items.
The military said its troops are focused on delivering tangible benefits for citizens.
“Additionally, troops seek to continue to heighten collaboration with neighbouring countries and regional bodies in order to tackle the menace of terrorism.
“Importantly, troops on the battlefield are in high spirits, fully committed, devoted and believe in the justness of the cause. Troops will be going the extra mile in the new year to get the job done.
“On the whole, the war is not for the armed forces alone, but for all citizens. The military therefore urges for more citizens’ support in order to win the war,” Buba said.