From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Troops of the Land Component (LC), Joint Task Force (JTF), South-South (SS), Operation DELTA SAFE (OPDS), of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, have destroyed illegal oil bunkering sites in Bayelsa and Rivers States.
The troops also recovered over 40,000 litres of illegal products during their operations in the two states.
The Acting Deputy Director, 6 Division Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, disclosed this in a statement released in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday.
Danjuma said the troops’ operation was aimed at reducing the activities of notorious illegal oil bunkering merchants in the Niger Delta region (NDR), adding that the troops have effectively scaled up operations against these criminal elements in the area.
He explained that the operations led to the identification of several illegal refining sites (IRS) in Rivers and Bayelsa States.
The 6 Division APR said: “In Rivers State, troops of Sector 3, LC JTF SS OPDS, following credible intelligence, identified and successfully destroyed three IRS at Odagwa in Etche Local Government Area (LGA).
“The operation led to the confiscation and subsequent destruction of over 30,000 litres of stolen and illegally refined products.
“Also, at Akaso field down to Cawthorne channel, around Well 9, troops discovered one IRS, three receivers, and massive connecting pipes traversing the terrain to convey stolen crude to the 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 12,000 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.”
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division, Nigerian Army and Land Component Commander, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, while commending the troops for their renewed vigour, charged them to redouble their efforts in denying these criminal elements freedom of action in the NDR.
He said this would ensure the integrity of the pipelines and increase oil production in the region in pursuance of the mandate of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) in the Niger Delta region (NDR).