The Commander Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Major General Adeyemi Yekini said on Monday, May 27, 2019, that the military outfit has destroyed 38 militia camps, neutralized 140 bandits and recovered 178 assorted weapons in its one year of operation.
Major General Yekini at a briefing in Makurdi to mark its one year anniversary, said that it also recovered ammunitions of different calibres from bandits.
Newsmen recalls that OPWS, which covers Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa States, was launched in May 2018 with a mandate to “put an end to the mass killings and destroy all armed militia camps in the states”.
The military high command also tasked the troops to flush out armed militia gangs terrorising parts of Benue and Taraba states.
Yekini disclosed that 41 weapons and 1,293 ammunitions were recovered in Benue, 127 weapons and 2,235 ammunitions in Nasarawa, while 10 weapons and 41 ammunitions were recovered in Taraba.
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He stated that 171 militia elements, including armed herdsmen and criminals linked to terrorist groups, as well as 140 bandits were neutralised during encounters with OPWS troops in the three States.
The Commander said 47 AK 47 rifles, two SMGs, one G2, and 127 locally made guns that make use of the same AK47 ammunitions were recovered during the year.
He said that OPWS was on track in fulfilling its mandate, and commended the Federal Government and governors of the three states for their tremendous support.
His words, “When one looks at the security situation today, compared to one year ago when we started, one can say with every sense of modesty that OPWS has largely achieved its mandate as incidents of mass killings or invasion of villages and communities have been substantially curbed.
“Admittedly, there are still isolated cases of criminality, especially kidnapping of locals by criminal elements. This ugly situation is already being addressed in collaboration with other security forces on ground”.
END
