Troops of the Nigerian Army (NA) have arrested two suspected terrorists with weapons hidden under the seat of a motorcycle in Taraba state.
Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu,army spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
He said the troops apprehended the suspects during a routine patrol at the Miyande village in Takum Local Government Area of the state.
Nwachukwu said another suspect who allegedly engages in gun-running activities for terrorists was arrested at a motor park in Jalingo, the state capital.
The statement said, “In a series of successful operations, Nigerian Army troops deployed for counter-terrorism and counter- insurgency operations in Taraba and Benue states have made significant strides in disrupting terrorist activities.
“The operations resulted in the arrest of a gun-runner, foiling of a kidnap attempt, and extermination of a terrorist.
“In Taraba state, troops, in collaboration with vigilantes, acted on actionable intelligence to apprehend one Mansir Mohammed at Jalingo Motor Park, who has been reportedly involved in gun-running activities with terrorists.
“His arrest led to the nabbing of other members of his syndicate and the recovery of one Semi Automatic Pump Action gun, one locally fabricated gun, a Peugeot car, five mobile phones, and the sum of forty-five thousand Naira (N45,000) only.
“In a separate operation, troops on routine patrol at Miyande village in Takum LGA of Taraba State have intercepted two terrorist suspects who concealed an automatic rifle underneath the seat of a motorbike on which he rode.”
Nwachukwu said the operatives recovered one AK-47 rifle, five rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, and a motorcycle.
“In another development, troops responded to a distress call and successfully foiled a kidnap attempt within Zaki-Biam town in Zaki-Biam local government area of Benue state.
“During the intervention, troops neutralized one kidnapper in a shootout with the criminals and recovered a Beretta pistol with 4 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, ” statement added.
