The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has confirmed that Nigerian troops arrested a notorious gunrunner and kidnap kingpin, Buhari Umar, who had long been terrorising communities across Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, and Kaduna States.
The arrest was made as part of a series of successful operations conducted throughout April.
This was disclosed by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, during a media briefing held in Abuja on Thursday.
According to Kangye, the arrest of Buhari Umar is a significant breakthrough in the military’s efforts to dismantle armed criminal networks across the country.
In a related operation, troops apprehended a five-member kidnapping syndicate in the Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The suspects — Hassan Mohammed, Saleh Sani, Idi Yusuf, Adamu Danmai, and Hassan Bello — were taken into custody for their roles in various abductions within the region.
Kangye also revealed that troops neutralised several members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), including a high-profile commander, Nkwachi Eze, widely known as “Onowu.”;
Eze, who had been on the military’s wanted list, was accused of orchestrating multiple attacks and kidnappings throughout the South-East geopolitical zone.
Beyond counter-insurgency efforts, the military reported the rescue of 173 kidnapped victims and the surrender of 204 terrorists and their family members.
In a parallel crackdown on economic sabotage, 430 suspected oil thieves and other criminal elements were arrested during the period under review.
Operations under Operation Delta Safe dealt a significant blow to illegal oil refining activities, with troops thwarting thefts valued at over ₦1.93 billion in just one week.
Among the recovered items were 1,009,733 litres of stolen crude oil, 304,811 litres of illegally refined diesel (AGO), 3,480 litres of dual-purpose kerosene (DPK), 19,875 litres of petrol (PMS), and 1,600 litres of engine oil.
The troops also uncovered and destroyed 351 crude oil cooking ovens, 418 dugout pits, 160 storage tanks, 721 drums, 30 wooden boats, nine speedboats, and 95 illegal refining sites. Additional seizures included drilling machines, pumping equipment, motorcycles, tricycles, 42 vehicles, and numerous mobile phones.
Weapons recovered during the operations included automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, machine guns, locally made firearms, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and caches of live cartridges and assorted ammunition.
Major General Kangye reiterated the military’s commitment to eliminating threats to national security and restoring peace and stability in affected regions.
