Military Stops Criminals From Stealing Over N639m Worth Of Crude Oil

The Military high command has revealed that over N637m worth of stolen crude oil was recovered from criminals.

The military, during its bi-weekly update on its operational activities, revealed that its troops also arrested 36 perpetrators of oil theft.

These operations, majorly across the nation’s Niger Delta region also witnessed the destruction of 51 dugout pits, 24 boats, 21 storage tanks and four vehicles, 28 cooking ovens and 21 illegal refining sites.

“Troops recovered 672,350 litres of stolen crude oil and 90,530 litres of illegally refined AGO,” the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba revealed on Friday.

On Insecurity, Buba said its personnel killed 188 terrorists and arrested 330 during operations conducted across Northern Nigerian in the past week.

He also noted that a total of 133 kidnapped persons were rescued by troops deployed across the country within the period under review.

Buba said, “The armed forces are working decisively to kill the terrorists, stop the insecurity, and ensure the safety of citizens. Accordingly, we are making the terrorists pay a much heavier price than we have been forced to pay.

“Troops will continue to operate with tremendous force against terrorists across the country. During the week under review, troops neutralised 188 and arrested 330 persons. Troops also rescued 133 kidnapped hostages.

“The military is in a good and strong position in the war against terrorists with many terrorist leaders killed. We will continue to provide security for citizens with the tools at our disposal.”

He, however, said troops recovered 270 assorted weapons and 5,083 assorted ammunition.

“The breakdown is as follows: 122 AK47 rifles, 47 locally fabricated guns, 47 Dane guns, 24 automatic pump action guns, 8 locally fabricated pistols, 2 locally made single barrel guns, one double barrel gun, one hand grenade, and one IED.

“Others are 2,129 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,686 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 116 rounds of 9mm ammo, 133 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ball ammo, 151 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 619 live cartridges, 34 magazines, 8 HH radios, 8 vehicles, 40 motorcycles, 6 bicycles, 50 mobile phones and the sum of N610,210.00 amongst other items,” Buba added.

Between January and March 2024, the nation’s armed forces killed a total of 2,351 terrorists, arrested 2,308 and rescued 1,241 kidnapped hostages.

They also recovered stolen crude oil worth N20bn in the first quarter of 2024.