The military high command said its troops detained suspected gunrunners providing firearms to bandit chief Bello Turji on Thursday.
The three persons were arrested in Kaduna during operations conducted between November 14 and 17, 2023.
Turji and 18 others were declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters on November 14, 2022, and a N95m bounty was set on their heads.
Turji, regarded as one of the most deadly bandit kingpins, was allegedly engaged in the murder of over 200 people, including women and children, in January 2022.
He was also accused of being behind the attack on Garki village in Sokoto in 2021, in which over 80 people were killed in a single night.
Turji has evaded military air attacks aiming at murdering him on multiple occasions.
Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, Director, Defence Media Operations, told media in Abuja that the suspects were on their way to give weaponry and ammunition to the bandit commander in Zamfara when they were apprehended by troops.
“Between November 14 and 17 2023, troops in separate operations arrested three suspected arms dealers (names withheld) in Zango Kataf and Kagarko LGAs of Kaduna State. Preliminary investigation revealed that they were on their way to deliver ammunition to Bello Turji, who is a notorious terrorist leader in Zamfara State. Troops recovered 504 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammo, 100 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammo, three RPG chargers, three mobile phones, one ATM card and one vehicle.”
“On November 20, 2023, troops while on patrol discovered an IED with a hand-written letter in Biu LGA of Borno State. Analysis is ongoing, “ he said.
“Troops also arrested 49 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 139 kidnapped hostages. In the South-South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of N1,018,483,900.00 only.
“Troops in the Niger Delta area destroyed 245 dugout pits, 31 boats, 69 storage tanks, 23 vehicles, 162 cooking ovens, one pumping machine, three outboard engines, one tricycle, and 50 illegal refining sites. Troops recovered 578,900 litres of stolen crude oil, 454,330 litres of illegally refined AGO, and 10,000 litres of DPK,” he said.
cc: Punch Ng
