Press briefing on Defence Headquarters coordinated Joint Operations by Acting Director Defence Information on Monday 23 December 2019

I welcome you very warmly to the end of year press briefing on Defence Headquarters coordinated Joint operational activities.

You are very much aware that as the year draws to an end, historical antecedents of ember months and the yuletide indicate that unscrupulous and criminal elements within the society may take advantage of the festive season to perpetrate criminal and atrocious activities.

The Armed Forces and Security Agencies are not oblivious of public apprehension about these tendencies Therefore in this regard it becomes necessary to reassure the public that the AFN and security agencies are working assiduously towards making the yuletide a safe and secured season

It may interest you to note that in the past 3 months, all Joint Internal Security Operations conducted by the military, the Nigeria Police, Department of State Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have increased the tempo of their operational activities and policing, with tremendous results recorded across all geo-political zones.

To refresh your memory, some of the ongoing Joint Internal Security Operations include Operations Safe Haven, Hadarin Daji, Thunder Strike, Whirl Stroke and Delta Safe.

It is thus imperative to bring the public up to speed on the operational activities of these security operations.

Operation Hadarin Daji in Zamfara State and its environ is a Joint Internal Security Operation targeted at curbing the activities of bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers and livestock rustlers. The gallant troops have, within the last 3 months neutralized several bandits in fierce combats and arrested 389 others.   

The rampant cases of kidnaping have been significantly reduced with 1,048 kidnapped victims rescued and 48 suspected kidnapers arrested. Within the period under review, troops also recovered 170 assorted fire arms comprising 58 x AK 47 rifles, 5 x G3 rifles, 5 x FN rifles, 7 Pump Action Guns and 95 locally fabricated guns.

Others include 3 Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher, 12,803 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 100 rounds of cartridges and 128 magazines. The troops also succeeded in recovering 5,567 rustled cattle, 2,499 sheep, 973 goats, 15 camels and 14 donkeys. Most of the animals have since been released to the state government for handover to their owners. 

Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, was set up to contain malevolent killings and destructions orchestrated by armed herdsmen/farmers clashes, armed bandits, local militia groups and other criminal gangs in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States.

In the last 3 months, troops of Operation Whirl Stroke conducted over 32 offensive operations against the infiltrating armed herdsmen, armed militia gangs and suspected kidnapping camps. The undaunted troops destroyed 82 kidnappers’ makeshift camps, arrested over 266 bandits, one illegal arm manufacturer and 3 gun-running kingpins. 

Within the period, 217 assorted assault weapons and 4,201 rounds of ammunition were recovered from criminals, while several bandits were neutralized in combat with the troops.

The effort of Operation Whirl Stroke also paved the way for 266,000 Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, to return to their ancestral homes. OPWS also stepped up its non-kinetic activities during the period under review. These include peace and dialogues initiatives with warring communities and construction of roads, especially the one that links Ugya to Zwere in Benue state.

Operation Safe Haven, OPSH, was originally set up to contain communal and ethno-religious crisis in Plateau state. However, other forms of criminalities, such as banditry, cultism, livestock rustling, kidnapping and herdsmen infiltration and robbery rocked the State, thereby forcing OPSH to re-strategize and hike-up the tempo of operation to arrest the emerging threats. Between September and November 2019, troops of OPSH arrested 779 suspected cultists, 10 kidnappers and 23 armed robbers.  Likewise, a total of 21 assorted weapons were recovered comprising 5 AK 47, one FN rifle, 7 locally fabricated rifles, 8 pistols and one dane gun. 

The troops also recovered 15 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, 63 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 3 rounds of cartridges.

Additionally, 666 rustled cattle and 100 sheep were recovered by the troops. OPSH has been able to employ non-kinetic operations to amicably resolve over 20 reported cases of farm land destruction that would have ordinarily led to violent herders/farmers clashes, thereby averting loss of lives and property.

Troops also held 22 peace dialogues among warring communities and organized rehabilitation programs for repentant cultists to encourage them to renounce cultism. Operation Thunder Strike, OPTS, is a Joint security effort to tackle the menace of banditry and kidnapping along Abuja-Kaduna road and Birnin Gwari general area. Within the period under review, OPTS made significant achievements in the fight against crime and criminalities in the area of operations.

The troops in a series of encounters arrested 12 suspected bandits and rescued 3 kidnap victims. The troops also recovered 7 AK 47 rifles, 4 locally made guns and 9 cartridges.

Troops also conducted a raid operation on a notorious kidnapper’s enclave known as Tushen-Kwara, located in Goningora where cultists converge. During the raid operation, 24 cultists were arrested while 5 bags and 40 wraps of marijuana were recovered. Also recovered at the scene were 60 raps of Evimor, 8 mobile phones and 19 handbags, apparently belonging to attacked victims

Operation Delta Safe, OPDS, was set up to curb crude oil theft, illegal refining of petroleum product, illegal oil bunkering, kidnapping, piracy, cultism and militancy in the Niger Delta Region. The OPDS covers Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. Other areas covered include Southern parts of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Imo and Ondo states. OPDS was reinvigorated by the DHQ to achieve its mandate. 

In the period under review, OPDS averted 64 attempted infractions on Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Pipelines.

Troops of OPDS also arrested 27 suspected militants/pirates. Nine (9) AK 47 rifles were recovered with 755 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. OPDS also embarked on rigorous anti-kidnapping operations, resulting in the rescue of over 43 victims, while 4 kidnappers were arrested.

Troops of OPDS arrested 41 suspected smugglers and 11 boats conveying about 2,130 bags of 50kg rice suspected to have been smuggled into the country from one of our neighboring countries. OPDS also explored the non-kinetic line of operations as one of the effective means.

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