Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has declared a foreign terror kingpin terrorising the people of Zamfara State, Halilu Buzu, wanted and called on the Nigerien authorities to help effect his arrest.
The director of Defence Media Operations Major General Edward Buba said the wanted terrorist leader hails from Buzu in Republic of Niger.
He is said to be settled in Subbubu Forest and lives in Shinkafi local government area of Zamfara State.
The military in November 2022 declared Halilu Buzu dead following airstrikes on his camp, however, less than two years later, he is still declared wanted.
According to the Military High Command, 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 said to be a prominent cattle rustler and illegal gold miner in the state.
His boys, according to the director, last week 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.
“Halilu is a major arms supplier, trusted by arms dealers from 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 Nigerien authorities to apprehend and hold him accountable for his atrocities”.
He continued, “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,”
On troops’ exploits within the week, he said troops neutralised 227 terrorists, arrested 529 persons and rescued 253 kidnapped hostages.
Troops also arrested 11 suspected oil thieves and recovered stolen products worth N1,312,477,050.00 only.
The troops recovered 231 assorted weapons and 6,441 assorted ammunition.
He gave a breakdown of recovered weapons as follows: 89 AK47 rifles, 40 locally fabricated gun, 59 dane guns, two pump action guns, eight locally fabricated pistols, six 36 hand grenade, three IED, one RPG 7 tubes, 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.
Others included 4,198 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 841 rounds vof 7.62mm NATO, 88 rounds of 5.56mm, 16 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm, 99 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm, 956 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 242 live cartridges, one PKM magazine, 24 magazines, six Baofeng radios, ight vehicles, 69 motorcycles, 66 mobile phones, 12 cutlasses and the sum of N1,630,000.00 only amongst other items.
Meanwhile in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 57 illegal refining sites, 18 dugout pits, 34 boats, five drums, four receivers, four reservoirs and 97 storage tanks.
Other include 198 cooking ovens, nine vehicles, three pumping machines, two speedboats, one outboard engine, 1,442,700 litres of stolen crude oil and 154,650 litres of illegally refined AGO.
The high command reassured that troops are fighting admirably in a very challenging complex combat environment and have made significant progress.
“However, there is still a lot of work ahead as there are still many more terrorists to kill, weapons to be recovered and many terrorist commanders and leaders to take off the battlefield.”
47 Terrorists Surrender To MNJTF In Borno
Meanwhile, 47 Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered to troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Borno State.
A statement by the chief military public information officer Lt-Col Abubakar Abdullahi said the terrorists surrendered to troops of 403 Amphibious Brigade of MNJTF Sector 3, Nigeria on 15th May, 2024.
He gave a breakdown of surrendered terrorists to include seven men, nine women and 31 children, who turned themselves in at Kwatan Turare and Doron Baga, Kukawa LGA of Borno State.
He said initial investigation revealed that the surrendered terrorists managed to escape from Sharama, located in the Lake Chad Islands.
He identified those who surrendered as Mallam Muazu Adamu, a known fighter within the Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihad (JAS) faction, who operated under Commander Alai Gana.
The terrorist surrendered alongside his wife to troops.
During investigation, other members of the group disclosed that they had been engaged in farming activities before deciding to make their escape.