In a reinvigorated vigour aimed at reducing the activities of notorious illegal oil bunkering merchants in the Niger Delta Region(NDR), troops of Land Component(LC), Joint Task Force(JTF), South South(SS), Operation DELTA SAFE(OPDS), have effectively scaled up operations against these criminal elements in the region.
Acting Deputy Director, 6 Division Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
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“In the operations that ensued, troops identified several illegal refining sites(IRS) in Rivers and Bayelsa States, where several discoveries were made,” the statement read.
In Rivers State, troops of Sector 3, LC JTF SS OPDS, following credible intelligence identified and successfully destroyed 3 IRS at Odagwa in Etche Local Government Area(LGA).
The operation led to the confiscation and subsequen destruction of over 30000 litres of stolen and illegally refined products. Also, at Akaso field down to Cawthorne channel, around Well 9, troops discovered One IRS, 3 receivers and massive connecting pipes traversing the terrain to convey stolen crude to IRS. Other items were also confiscated and destroyed at the sites in line with the mandate of Operation DELTA SAFE in the NDR.
Similarly, in Bayelsa State, troops of Sector 2, while conducting routine operations in the creeks, waterways and rivulets along Dasaba Creek in Nembe LGA, confiscated over 12000 litres of stolen and illegally refined products.
Other Items recovered at the IRS include One Fibre Boat, Five Ovens, several metal drums as well as massive reservoirs used as storage facilities for this illegal venture.
While commending troops for the renewed vigour, the General Officer Commnading, 6 Division, Nigerian Army and Land Component Commander, Major General Jamal Abdussalam charged them to redouble their efforts in denying these criminal elements freedom of action in the NDR.
This he said, would ensure integrity of the pipelines and increase oil production in the region in pursuant of the mandate of OPDS in the NDR.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
