Mariam Sanni
The Commander of the Operation Delta Safe, OPDS Rear Admiral Neol Magudu has reiterated that the numbers of sea robbery, piracy cases in the country’s waterways and the Gulf of Guinea, are at their lowest levels.
The commander , who was represented by the Maritime Component Commander , commodore Patrick Meteke revealed this while playing host to the Defence Correspondents during a media tour to the OPDS headquarters, Bayelsa state .
He assured that the Force will continue to maintain the tempo of clearance operations on all criminal camps in order to sustain the current gains.
While speaking on their operations and achievements , he said the troops has destroyed about 570 illegal refinery site across the Niger Delta Region .
He added that over 918 storage facilities, and 194 large wooden boats, among others were also destroyed .
According to him, 71 tanker trucks/vehicles engaged in conveying illegally refined products were arrested and handled appropriately.
The OPDS commander noted that approximately 3,582,893 litres of crude oil and 1,565,318 litres of illegally refined AGO, as well as about 55,635 litres of DPK and 91,760 litres of PMS, were denied to the criminals.
Also, in the course of these operations, 681 suspects were arrested in connection with various crimes.
“The number of sea robbery and piracy cases in Nigerian waters, as well as in the Gulf of Guinea, are at their lowest and zero levels respectively. Nonetheless, the Force will continue to maintain the tempo of clearance operations on all criminal camps in order to sustain the current gains.
“The anti-Crude Oil Theft (COT) efforts of the Joint Force (JF) during the period under consideration led to the demobilization of about 570 illegal oil refining sites (each of which contains many camps), over 918 storage facilities, and 194 large wooden boats, among others. Additionally, 71 tanker trucks/vehicles engaged in conveying illegally refined products were arrested and handled appropriately.
“Approximately 3,582,893 litres of crude oil and 1,565,318 litres of illegally refined AGO, as well as about 55,635 litres of DPK and 91,760 litres of PMS, were denied to the criminals. In the course of these operations, 681 suspects were arrested in connection with various crimes. The suspects and exhibits were handed over to appropriate prosecuting agencies for further action.
“While some of the arrested suspects were convicted, others are still undergoing trials in various courts of law. The operations led to about 89 per cent operational success within the first quarter of 2025. This contributed to the sustenance of average Terminal Factors of 95 per cent on the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), Trans Ramos Pipeline (TRP), and Trans Escravos Pipeline (TEP), as well as an increase in crude oil output from 1.2 million barrels per day in June 2024 to about 1.85 million as of May 25, 2025.
“Clearance of Militants’/Sea Robbers’ Camps.
During the period in focus, the JF conducted several clearance operations aimed at ridding the Joint Operations Area (JOA) of militants and sea pirates/robbers taking refuge within the camps. About 13 such camps were destroyed. As a result of the sustained tempo of clearance operations against sea robbers, pirates, and other criminals,” he stated.
Sent from my iPhone
