Military seizes N3bn worth of stolen crude in three months
Indecent oil and petroleum merchandise valued at ₦3,500,435,234.00 had been recovered from oil thieves in the Niger Delta discipline inside of the past three months, the Defence Headquarters has printed.
The recoveries had been made following plenty of operations performed by troops of Operation Delta Steady (OPDS), a military onslaught concentrated on oil thieves, pirates, and pipeline vandals in the discipline.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Main Accepted Markus Kangye, who disclosed the seizures in some unspecified time in the future of a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, talked about troops furthermore destroyed 174 unlawful refining sites and recovered Forty five vehicles from oil vandals.
He gave the breakdown of the seized merchandise as 2,381,239 litres of stolen coarse, 605,393 litres of illegally sophisticated AGO (popularly identified as diesel), 41,465 litres of DPK (kerosene), and 26,905 litres of PMS (petrol).
No fewer than 12 oil thieves and various criminals had been arrested, while diversified hands, ammunition, and explosives had been recovered. “Fifteen victims deserted by suspected militia/pirates had been rescued by troops in some unspecified time in the future of an offensive operation in Oron Native Authorities Space of Akwa Ibom Deliver on June 28,” Maj.-Gen. Kangye talked about.
He added that troops discovered and destroyed 52 coarse oil cooking ovens, 21 dugout pits, 11 boats, 36 storage tanks, 36 drums, and 25 unlawful refining sites. Other objects recovered encompass pumping machines, drilling machines, tricycles, bikes, cellular telephones, and 6 vehicles.
Giving an update on military successes in opposition to terrorists and bandits in the past three months, the defence spokesman talked about troops killed plenty of terrorist kingpins and their foot squaddies, arrested over 1,191 of them, and rescued 543 kidnap victims. He added that in some unspecified time in the future of the quarter, about 682 terrorists and their families surrendered to troops.
Among the terrorists eradicated on the battlefield had been the dreaded Amir Abu Fatimah, Kinging Auta, Abdul Jamilu, Salisu, Mallam Jidda, Maiwada, Mai Dada, and Nwachi Eze, a commander of the outlawed Indigenous Folks of Biafra/Jap Safety Community (ESN), in every other case identified as Onowu.
“Two days ago, bandit kingpin Yellow Danbokkolo succumbed to injuries sustained in some unspecified time in the future of an encounter with troops,” he talked about.
He added that some infamous gunrunners and kidnappers on the troops’ watchlist, including Buhari Umar, Hassam Mohammed, Saleh Sani, Adamu Dan Mai, Idi Yusuf, Hassan Bello, Muhammed Isah, Shimu Ilu Adamu, Ismaila Ilu Hassan, Michael, and Shittu Muazu Bakassi, had been arrested.
