The Defense Headquarters has said that, within one week, Operation Delta Safe troops have uncovered and rendered inactive 53 illegal refining sites, retrieved stolen products, and apprehended 19 individuals suspected of engaging in oil theft.
Major General Edward Buba, the Director of Defense Media Operations, shared this information during a press briefing on the activities of the Armed Forces of Nigeria nationwide in Abuja on Thursday.
Buba highlighted that the troops have maintained a continuous effort to combat crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
During their operations, they located and eliminated 54 dugout pits, 66 boats, 138 storage tanks, 253 cooking ovens, two pumping machines, eight speedboats, 17 hoses, 18 drums, and two cylinders.
Furthermore, they successfully recovered 983,350 liters of stolen crude oil, 144,980 liters of illegally refined AGO, and 71,650 liters of DPK.
In addition to these accomplishments, Buba noted that the troops neutralized a criminal, rescued three hostages, recovered a fabricated rifle, 18 vehicles, and a flashlight.
Moving to the Southeast, Buba mentioned that Operation UDO KA troops carried out a surprise operation, apprehending suspected IPOB/ESN members in Ikwo and Okigwe local government areas of Ebonyi and Imo states during the week.
They also neutralized five terrorists, arrested 12 individuals suspected of criminal activities, and rescued seven kidnapped hostages.
The troops recovered two locally crafted firearms, four rounds of 7.62 mm Special ammo, one FN rifle barrel, IED materials, 10 water gel explosives, three detonators, and one detonating cord, among other items.
He added that all seized items, detained suspects, and rescued hostages were handed over to the appropriate authorities for further action.
The defence spokesman further said that the military had uncovered and neutralised some of the criminals’ havens across various theatres of operation, including national parks, game reserves, and forests.
“The military has identified several of these safe havens and operations are targeted towards ensuring that they are completely dismantled.
“Recently, one of such hideouts in the Southeast was invaded by troops and they found unspeakable and unprintable activities going on in the invaded camps. It goes to tell us that these extremists are cannibals, feasting on fellow human beings and conducting other forms of dastardly acts,” he said.