By Emmanuel Obisue
Nigerian military has assured of maximum security across the country during the yuletide season.
The assurance was given on Thursday at the Nigerian Defence Headquarters by Major General Musa Danmadami, Director, Defence Media Operations, while answering questions from newsmen after a media brief.
“We are not going to relent in our efforts. We are not going on break,” he added.
The military hierarchy reiterated that the various ongoing special operations embarked upon by joint security forces, will further fend off criminal activities across the country.
Danmadami told newsmen that within the last one week, oil thieves in the Niger Delta were denied a total of “Seven Hundred Thirteen Million, Six Hundred Ninety Nine Thousand Six Hundred Naira (N713,699,600.00)”.
“The large quantity of illegal crude oil and other petroleum product recovered and destroyed and the number of arrested oil thieves and pipeline vandals, shows the unrelenting efforts by the troops of Operation DELTA SAFE in denying them freedom of action.
“Troops of operations DELTA SAFE in the conduct of Operation OCTOPUS GRIP discovered and destroyed 57 illegal refining sites, 953 cooking ovens, 68 wooden boats, 172 storage tanks and 149 dugout pits. Also recovered were 445,000 litres of crude oil, 1,043,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil, 22,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, 2,000 litres Dual Purpose Kerosine, 1 AK47 rifle, 8 tankers, 63 vehicles, 2 speed boat, 1 thug boat, 14 motorcycles, 1 tricycle, 3 bicycles, 11 pumping machines and 3 outboard engines, while 21 oil thieves and pipeline vandals were apprehended,” he added.