Troops Thwart Oil Thieves, Seize Products Worth N1.1bn in Two Weeks

The Military High Command on Thursday said that troops deployed to the  Joint Task Force (JTF), South-south, Operation Delta Safe, denied oil thieves petroleum products estimated at N1,127,229,890.00  in two week.

The military also noted that the troops equally recovered no fewer than 1,125,440 litres of stolen crude oil, 213,539 litres of illegally refined diesel and 1,230 litres of petrol, within the period under review.

Director, Defence Media Operation, Maj.-Gen Edward Buba, made this disclosure during the bi-weekly briefing on the operational activities of the Nigerian military and other security agencies, at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), in Abuja.

The military operations spokesperson also revealed that troops arrested no fewer than 26 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 109 kidnapped hostages.

Buba further disclosed that troops  discovered and destroyed 57 illegal refining sites, 18 dugout pits, 30 boats, 49 storage tanks, 66 cooking ovens, four drums, five speedboats, 15 vehicles, two tricycles, one generator, and 11 mobile phones, during anti oil bunkering operations in Niger Delta.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 128 assorted weapons and 3,300 assorted ammunition. The breakdown are as follows: one PKT gun, 80 AK47 rifles, 15 locally fabricated gun, 15 Dane guns, two FN rifles, five  pump action guns, two single barrel guns, four locally fabricated pistols, one fabricated barretta pistol, one locally made double barrel gun, two hand grenades, two primed IEDs and materials.

“Others are: 1,941 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 729 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 377 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 191 rounds of 5.55mm ammo, 199 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 16 rounds of 9mm ammo, 26 live cartridges, 26 empty case of cartridges, 26 AK47 magazines, six baofeng radios, 10 vehicles, four motorcycles, four walkie-talkie, mobile phones and the sum of N102,010.00 only amongst other items,” Buba said.

Buba noted that troops were confronted by a vicious enemy that were constantly trying to kill citizens or have killed citizens, adding that the terror groups were responsible for perpetrating insecurity across the country.

The military, he said, is keeping up the pressure through ongoing operations in five active theatres across the country.

He noted that the operations were complex, as troops were engaged in fighting in difficult terrains as well as fighting adversaries that adopt various forms across the country.

Ikechukwu Aleke

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