The air component of Operation Delta Safe conducted operations resulting in the obliteration of seven illegal refining sites scattered across different locations in Rivers State. Additionally, military aircraft bombed four boats carrying illegally refined products heading southwards during the operations.
Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, the Director of Public Relations and Information for the Nigerian Air Force, revealed in a statement on Sunday that the operations took place on April 12 and 13, 2024, targeting communities such as Idama, Ogbomkiri, Arugbana, Ivy Island, and Samkiri in Rivers State.
Gabkwet emphasized the significant successes achieved through air strikes against economic saboteurs operating in the Niger Delta Region. He highlighted the disruption of oil thieves’ efforts to extract and transport crude oil illegally.
In Idama, an active illegal refining site was identified and neutralized, while reconnaissance missions over Yellow Island and Cawthorne Channel detected and destroyed four boats laden with illicitly refined products.
Furthermore, at Arugbana, oil thieves were caught in the act of establishing an illegal refining site but fled upon the approach of military aircraft. Similar reconnaissance missions over Ogbomkiri, Ivy Island, and Samkiri revealed and eliminated several illegal refining sites.
Overall, seven illegal refining sites and four boats were discovered and destroyed during the two-day operation.
Earlier incidents include a December 2023 strike by the air component of Operation Delta Safe, which eradicated six illegal oil refining sites at Opu Arugbana in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers. In March 2024, two illegal oil refining sites were demolished at Krakama and Temakiri in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
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