The Nigerian Army have discovered and destroyed 74 illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta region in the last two weeks.
The Director of Defence Media Operations Musa Danmadami disclosed this on Thursday, February 10, at a press briefing on operations of the armed forces in Abuja.
He also disclosed that troops nabbed 71 oil thieves in the course of Operation Delta Safe in the South-South zone of the country.
The defence spokesman also disclosed that the troops destroyed 341 storage tanks, 31 wooden boats, 260 ovens and 15 dugout pits while recovering 209,000 litres of crude oil, 145,000 litres of diesel, and 4,500 litres of petrol.
Danmadami stressed that 27 variety of weapons, 468 assorted ammunition, two speed boats, two outboard engines, eight vehicles and four motorcycles were recovered while a total of 71 criminals were apprehended.
According to him, the troops had continued to sustain the war against oil theft, illegal refineries and other criminal activities in the region through aggressive patrols, raids and clearance operations among other activities.
He noted that the oil thieves were denied N173.9 million.
Meanwhile, he added that troops of the joint Task Force in South-East zone, Operation Udoka, sustained the fight against the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network terrorists, aimed at restoring peace in the zone.
He noted that two IPOB/ESN terrorists were killed, 14 arrested and recovered several high-calibre weapons during the operation.
Danmadami further disclosed that the troops of operation AWATSE in the South-West region arrested 30 suspected criminals and recovered different categories of arms and ammunition as well as hard drugs within the period.
Similarly, in the North-East zone, the troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, also recovered assorted weapons from terrorists, killed eight Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters, and arrested 35 terrorist logistics suppliers.
He added that the soldiers rescued 19 civilians while a total of 1,332 terrorist and their family members comprising 222 adult males, 411 adult females and 699 children surrendered to troops at different locations within the theatre of Operations.
Danmadanmi stressed that the troops of Operation Hadarin Daniel in the North-West recovered 7 AK47 rifles, 12 AK47 magazines, 158 rounds of 7.62mm special, one locally fabricated weapon, four Improvised Explosive Devices, and the sum of N10.5 million.
The defence spokesman commended the unrelenting efforts of troops and other security agencies in the various theatres of operations across the country.
He also acknowledged the media community for “ their partnership and continued cooperation with the military and other security agencies, in our quest to restore peace and security to our dear country”.
“We are also urging them to continue to provide prompt and creditable information on the activities of terrorists and other criminal elements, in their respective areas,” he added.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M
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