Military thwarts N1.2bn crude theft, to end terrorist attacks

On Thursday, the Defence Headquarters announced that during the previous two weeks, troops had seized N1.2 billion worth of stolen crude.

This was in line with its pledge to render terrorists incapable of launching limited strikes on vulnerable targets.

Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, Director of Defense Media Operations, made this statement on Thursday in Abuja at a briefing for media about the military’s recent two weeks’ worth of operations.

He said, “The ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations have prevented these evil elements from accomplishing their strategic objectives. The military will continue to degrade their ability to carry out small-scale attacks which are intended to create panic in localities.”

He added that in a single week, military actions resulted in the deaths of 73 terrorists, the arrest of 182, and the release of 68 captives.

The director reported that 14 suspected oil thieves were detained after forces found and demolished 63 illicit refining sites that included 15 dugout pits, 45 boats, 87 storage tanks, 128 cooking ovens, one pumping machine, and four outboard engines.

An estimated N1, 212,046,140 worth of goods were found, according to Buba, including 962,500 liters of stolen crude oil, 35,420 liters of unlawfully refined AGO, 38,450 liters of DPK, and 45,000 liters of PMS.

During the evaluation period, troops also found 1,537 different types of ammunition and 119 different types of weaponry.