By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Nigerian Army (NA) has said that its troops deployed for counter-terrorism and insurgency operations in Taraba and Benue states had made significant strides in disrupting terrorists’ activities.
Director of Army Public Relations, Maj-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement, said a series of successful operations by the troops, had resulted in the arrest of a gun runner, foiling of a kidnap attempt, and killing of a terrorist.
He noted that in Taraba State, troops, in collaboration with vigilantes, acted on actionable intelligence to apprehend one Mansir Mohammed at Jalingo Motor Park, who has been reportedly involved in gun-running activities with terrorists.
His arrest, he said, led to the nabbing of other members of his syndicate and the recovery of one semi-automatic pump action gun, one locally fabricated gun, a Peugeot car, five mobile phones, and the sum of forty-five thousand Naira (N45,000) only.
“In a separate operation, troops on routine patrol at Miyande Village in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State intercepted two terrorist suspects who concealed Automatic rifles underneath the seat of a motorbike on which they rode.
“The vigilant troops recovered one AK- 47 Rifle, five rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, and a motorcycle. In another development, troops responded to a distress call and successfully foiled a kidnap attempt within Zaki-Biam Town in Zaki-Biam Local Government Area of Benue State.
“During the intervention, troops neutralized one kidnapper in a shootout with the criminals and recovered a Beretta Pistol with four rounds of 9 mm ammunition,” Nwachukwu said.
He added that the successful operations underscored the Nigerian Army’s unwavering commitment to eradicating terrorism and insurgency in its strive to ensure security in the country.
He urged members of the public to continue to support troops as they conduct their operations.
