98 illegal refineries destroyed in Niger delta _ Troops

In a significant crackdown on illicit activity in the Niger Delta, Nigerian army have demolished 98 clandestine oil refineries and retrieved 799,400 liters of stolen crude oil over the previous week. In addition to finding and destroying 45 storage tanks, 13 boats, 26 dugout pits, and 90 drums, the operations, which were designed to stop oil theft and related crimes, also had other results.

155 cooking ovens, 4 speedboats, a pumping machine, 7 cars, and 151,150 liters of illegally refined automotive gas oil (AGO) were among the other goods found. The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, provided specifics of these accomplishments in a statement released on Friday. The statement emphasized the military’s continuous national counterterrorism and insurgent operations.

According to Buba, Nigerian forces carried out extensive counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations throughout numerous regions, in addition to the operations in the Niger Delta. 302 people were taken into custody and 171 suspects were neutralized by the military during the review week. Twenty-five oil thieves were among those detained, and 134 hostages who had been abducted were freed. Additionally, he mentioned that the army in the South-South zone stopped oil theft worth an estimated N846,480,800.00.

“Terrorist leaders and commanders were neutralized, causing disruptions to their activities and reducing their ability to operate, resulting in significant victories for the troops in the Northeast and Northwest theaters of operation.” According to Buba, “troops in the North Central region arrested notorious kidnappers and gunrunners, further weakening criminal networks.” He went on to say that a sizable cache of guns and ammunition had also been found as a result of military operations.