By Linus Aleke
The hierarchy of the Nigerian military, Thursday said, the troops of Operation Delta Safe in the conduct of Operation Octopus Grip discovered and destroyed 44 illegal refining sites, in the creeks of Niger Delta within 14 days.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami made this disclosure while briefing the press in Abuja.
He disclosed that the troops also uncovered and destroyed 32 wooden boats, 73 storage tanks, 129 cooking ovens and 40 dugout pits.
The troops, he said, equally recovered 512,000 litres of stolen crude oil, 114,500 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, and 1,000 Premium Motor Spirit.
Other items according to him, included, 40 vehicles, 3 motorcycles, 3 generators as well as 5 pumping machines.
General Danmadami added that troops also arrested 29 criminal elements and recovered 104 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition.
Also, the air component of Operation Delta Safe conducted a series of air mission operations within the joint operation area of the zone.
He revealed that on 7 November 2022, the air component conducted an air interdiction operation at Abacheke, an identified illegal refining site where significant human activities were confirmed.
He said, the target was engaged and destroyed, while, the air strike led to an inferno that lasted for almost 24hrs.
He was however silent on the level of air pollution orchestrated by the inferno within the 24hrs time frame.
Meanwhile, experts observe that such action by the military is against the federal government’s effort in combating climate change.
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Major General Danmadami said: “Troops of the Joint Task force Operation Delta Safe and other security agencies in the South-South Zone of the country have continued to sustain offensive action against oil theft, economic saboteurs and another criminal element in ensuring a relatively safe and peaceful environment for the operations of International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the protection of oil and gas infrastructures in the general area, which has yielded some significant successes. Between 3 and 17 November 2022, the land and maritime component of operation Delta Safe conducted kinetic operations geared toward denying criminal elements freedom of action at creeks, villages, communities, waterways, cities and towns within Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers States with the support of the air component”.
Speaking on the successes recorded in the Southwest zone the spokesperson said, troops, recovered 865 bags of 50kg foreign rice, and 505, 30 litres of jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit.
He said that all recovered items were handed over to the Nigerian Customs Services in Ogun and Lagos State for further action.
In conclusion, he conveyed the military high command commendations on troops’ efforts in the various theatres of operation across the nation.
