The Director of Defence Media Operations, defence headquarters Abuja, Maj-Gen Edward Buba, on Saturday said  Nigerian troops on operation across various parts of the country, have neutralized 109 terrorists, arrested 81 criminal elements and destroyed 10 illegal refineries in the last one week.

He said nine AK47 rifles, 5 fabricated rifles, 4 Dane guns, 3 locally made pistols, 7 magazines, 97 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 22 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 5 live cartridges, three baofeng radios, four vehicles, six motorcycles and four mobile phones amongst other items were recovered from the dreaded criminals during the operations.

General Buba who disclosed this in a statement issued and made available to journalists in Abuja on Saturday, said the troops also arrested six oil thieves and rescued 43 kidnap victims. According to him, during one of the troops operations in the Niger Delta area,  10 illegal refining sites were discovered and destroyed, while 10 crude oil cooking ovens, 10 dugout pits, 12 boats, and four storage tanks were recovered from the criminals.

The troops recovered 631,709 litres of stolen crude oil, 3,140 litres of illegally refined diesel and 2,250 litres of petrol in the past week. Other items recovered include three pumping machines, 12 speedboats, 20 drums, two motorcycles, one mobile phone and four vehicles among others. The troops also recovered 21 assorted weapons and 124 assorted ammunition.  The Defence spokesman also said that Troops are sustaining the winning ways of ongoing operational engagements adding that, citizens will continue to witness the incremental effectiveness and efficiency of the armed forces in the New Year.