Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Air Component of the Joint Military Taskforce operating in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Delta Safe, OPDS, has destroyed six illegal oil refining sites near Opu Arugbana, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The illegal refineries were said to be clustered within an approximately 80-meter radius, situated six nautical miles south of Opu Arugbana.
A statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshall Edward Gabkwet, said permission to bomb the refining sites was granted once they found out the sites were operational.
The statement read in part: “In continuation of efforts to rid the Niger Delta of activities of oil thieves and oil pipeline vandals, air strikes by the air component of Operation Delta Safe, on 23 December 2023, destroyed six illegal oil refining sites in Opu Arugbana in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“The illegal sites were sighted clustered within a radius of about 80 metres at a location about six nautical miles south of Opu Arugbana.
“Having been confirmed to be active, authorization was obtained to destroy the six sites, thus discouraging the criminals from continuing with their acts of illegality.”
The Nigerian Airforce in the statement noted that the service would continue air raids against oil thieves and other criminals across the country despite the festive period.
“Despite the festive season, air operations against criminals in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country continue unabated.
“The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, who spent Christmas day with troops in the North East and is currently in Katsina to fete troops of Operation Hadarin Daji, has commended the efforts of the Air Component Commanders in all the theatres of operation while calling on them not to rest until criminal activities are reduced to the barest minimum,” the statement said.
