The Defence Headquarters on Thursday declared wanted, a terrorist leader, Halilu Buzu, from Buzu in the Republic of Niger.

Buzu who resides in Shinkafi LGA of Zamfara State, operates an illegal gold mine in Zamfara and is a prominent cattle rustler and arms supplier.

Major General Edward Buba, the Director Defence Media Operation disclosed the development on Thursday during a bi-weekly media briefing on military operations conducted in the country during the past week.

Buba said, “Troops are actively fighting in various theatres of operation across the country and are focussed on destroying both the military capability as well as the will to fight off the terrorists and their cohorts across the country.

“Accordingly, troops are hunting senior terrorist leadership that is of operational importance in terms of coordination of the terrorist attacks against troops and citizens. Troops are also hunting those that are of symbolic value including all those declared wanted.

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“Troops are in hunt of one, Halilu Buzu, a terrorist leader that hails from Buzu in the Republic of Niger. He settled in Subbubu Forest and lives in Shinkafi LGA of Zamfara State. His camp and illegal gold mine are located at Kawayi in Anka LGA of Zamfara State, where he has a lot of boys working for him.

“Halilu is also a prominent cattle rustler and illegal gold miner. Last week, his boys killed 19 villagers at Farar Kasa. He is a High-Value Target and therefore declared wanted. Meanwhile, he is one of several others that we would be declaring wanted.

“Additionally, Halilu is a major arms supplier, trusted by arms dealers for supplying arms from Libya. When troops close in on him, he moves across the border into the Republic of Niger for refuge. At this time, we are through appropriate channels calling on the Nigerian authorities to apprehend and hold him accountable for his atrocities.

“These categories of terrorists are relentlessly targeted by troops, such that we will be able to strike them out and take them off the battlefield as soon as possible. It is clear that the fate of the terrorists perpetrating insecurity in our nation will be violent and short. Troops will stop at nothing to take them out of the battlefield.”

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The DMO further announced that soldiers fighting the counter-insurgency war and carrying out other security operations across the country, killed 227 terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, oil thieves, and other criminals in the past week. Additionally, they arrested 529 criminals, rescued 253 kidnapped hostages, and recovered numerous weapons.

Buba said, “During the period under review, troops discovered and destroyed 18 dugout pits, 34 boats, five drums, four receivers, four reservoirs, and 97 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 198 cooking ovens, nine vehicles, three pumping machines, two speedboats, one outboard engine, and 57 illegal refining sites. He added that troops also recovered 1,442,700 litres of stolen crude oil and 154,650 litres of illegally refined AGO.”

On the breakdown of the weapons recovered, he aded that, “they included 89 AK47 rifles, 40 locally fabricated guns, 59 dane guns, two pump action guns, eight locally fabricated pistols, 6 x 36 hand grenades, three IEDs, one RPG 7 tube, one RPG 7 charger, 4 AGL rounds, one barrel of QJC Gun, one barrel of PKT with receiver, one barrel of Dushka Gun, 250kg bombs used by NATO and Eastern Bloc aircraft, and one MRAP.”

He further noted that troops prevented oil thefts amounting to over N1.3 billion in the Niger Delta region.

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He also revealed that in the course of the operations, troops recovered 231 assorted weapons and 6,441 assorted ammunition.

Buba emphasized that troops are actively fighting in various theatres of operation across the country and are focused on destroying terrorists’ military capabilities.

Buba concluded by stating that troops are relentless in their pursuit of terrorists and criminals, determined to take them off the battlefield and bring an end to their atrocities. He commended the troops for their dedication and sacrifice in ensuring the safety and security of the nation.