Basking in the euphoria of raising crude oil production from 1.2 to 1.83 million barrels per day (mpd) this year, the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) has marshaled out plans to raise the output to the 2mbp target set for them by the Federal Government.
Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), Rear Admiral John Okeke, told journalists on Wednesday in Yenogoa, capital of Bayelsa State, that the Command would focus on the Imo River and deny oil criminals of its use in carrying out oil theft.
Towards this, Admiral Okeke said the military would soon establish outposts along the River which he described as a “major corridor for oil theft” and other illegal activities especially by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Admiral Okeke, who spoke on the activities of his Command in 2024 reviewed the progress the Command made, challenges facing the soldiers, how to sustain the achievements and future plans, called on all stakeholders in the oil and general security in the 10 States covered by OPDS to see the military as partners and join hands it to stop economic saboteurs from destroying the economy of Nigeria.
The 10 States include Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Rivers, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Ondo and Anambra.
He said the Command had cut down oil theft in the areas by frustrating activities of oil criminals which made it possible for the crude oil output to increase to 1.83mpb presently, revealing that security men has burst a syndicate that specialized in forging documents which the criminals used to move products.
Other operations that helped produce the spectacular result, he said, include the introduction of road blocks by the military to check movement of stolen products, destruction of illegal refineries, arrest of 300 vehicles used in crude oil theft, seizure of 15m liters of crude oil, and the arrest of about 1,000 suspects.
Other measures taken by his Command that aided the good performance, the JTF Commander said are the introduction of enlarged and enhance engagements with the local communities as well as the oil companies operating in the areas.
Admiral Okeke also mentioned challenges faced by his men in the year to include: inadequate access for operations of the troops, inadequate vehicles, inadequate tactical drones, tracking devices, inadequate fuel supply for the Command and difficulty in maintaining operational vehicles of the Command.
The Commander also listed other challenges to include inadequate lubricants, frictions between government security and private security hired by companies operating in the areas who he described as “over bearing.”
Okeke said his men are also contending with obstruction of right of ways by some oil companies, late reporting of security threats to his Command, insufficient information on contractors hired by the oil companies, and a new threat from criminals who started using improvised explosives among others.
He also called for improvement in sharing of intelligence among government security agencies in the area so that what the Command has achieved so far would be sustained and improved upon in 2025.
He praised troops under his Command for their commitment to duties, soliciting for better reporting of the activities of OPDS.
