By Abuja, Nigeria – In a bid to combat increasing crude oil theft, the Nigerian Army has reported that its operatives conducted raids across the Niger Delta region, resulting in 125 deaths, 200 arrests, and the recovery of ammunition in the past week.
This was disclosed by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, on Friday, and made available to our correspondent.
Buba said the redesigned strategy of the Armed Forces aims to curb the menace of crude oil theft through a comprehensive approach.
The statement read, “During the week under review, troops neutralized 125 and arrested 200 persons. Troops also arrested 20 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 140 kidnapped hostages. In the South-South, troops denied the theft of the estimated sum of N744,153,900 million.”
The statement added, “Troops recovered 120 assorted weapons and 1,793 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 56 AK47 rifles, 26 locally fabricated guns, 22 Dane guns, one SMG rifle, seven pump action guns, one fabricated Beretta pistol, seven locally made guns, five mortar bombs, unexploded ordinances, and two small rubber gun powder.”
Buba noted that troops discovered and destroyed 11 dugout pits, five boats, 20 storage tanks, 31 cooking ovens, five vehicles, three mobile phones, and 31 illegal refining sites, adding that 715,325 liters of stolen crude oil and 148,415 liters of illegally refined AGO were recovered.
