Essential Ndubuisi
Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters says it is not relenting in the fight against oil theft as its land and maritime components of Operation DELTA SAFE in the conduct of Operation OCTOPUS GRIP had discovered and destroyed 81 illegal refining sites, 254 storage tanks, 173 cooking ovens, 118 dugout pits, and 36 wooden boats, within the past 2 weeks.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami, who disclosed this in Abuja said, troops of Joint Task Force, Operation DELTA SAFE has continued its kinetic operation geared towards sustaining a conducive environment for economic activities to thrive and deny criminals the oppotunity to carry out their illegal oil activites in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers States respectively.
He said, between 17 November 2022 and today, troops had cummulatively recovered 1,060,500 litres of crude oil, 391,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil, 11 cars, 6 tankers, 8 pumping machines, 3 motorcycles, 2 outboard engines, 1 tricycle, and 5 AK47 rifles loaded with 10 rounds of 7.62mm special, while 81 criminal elements were also apprehended during the various operations.
According to Danmadami, cumulatively within the weeks in focus oil thieves were denied a total of N471,205,425.00 in the South South Region.
He once again enjoined the populace to continue to assist the military in their quest to restore peace and security in the country by providing them with prompt and credible information on the activities of terrorists and other criminal elements, in their localities.
