The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), on Thursday, revealed measures emplaced to contain crude oil theft and other acts of economic sabotage in the Niger Delta.

One of such measures, according to the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen. Edward Buba is the enthronement of transparency in the activities of international oil companies (IOCs).

“In battling the perpetrators of crude oil theft. We have established a unified command structure for security operating in the region.

“Additionally, we are examining other areas such as transparency of IOCs, credible metering of oil wells and the tracking of point of loading to the destination of the crude oil.

“We are also galvanising the support of host communities as well as stakeholders in the oil sector. Troops are also reinforcing surveillance efforts on vessels, terminals and oil infrastructures to include jackets, that house well heads.

“Most importantly, troops are monitoring to ensure that culprits are prosecuted by the prosecuting agencies. It is believed that with these measures emplaced, there would be a significant boost in crude oil output for the nation”, Buba said.

He added thus: “In the South-South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of Seven Hundred and Ninty Three Million Five Hundred and Thirty-Six Thousand Naira (N793,536,000.00) only.

“Furthermore, troops recovered 125 assorted weapons and 1,522 assorted ammunition. The breakdown as follows: 41 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 24 locally fabricated guns, 28 Dane guns, one pump action gun, 755 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 623 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 102 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm, 63 live cartridges, 247 empty cases of 7.62mm ammo, 22 AK47 magazines, one baofeng radio, 22 vehicles, 31 motorcycles, 2 bicycles, 10 mobile phones and the sum of N2,956,000.00 only amongst other items.

“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 20 dugout pits, 24 boats and 34 storage tanks. Other items recovered include 56 cooking ovens, 2 speedboats, 14 pumping machines, 18 drums, 22 vehicles, 4 motorcycles and 36 illegal refining sites.

“Troops recovered 802,200 litres of stolen crude oil, 121,900 litres of illegally refined AGO and 450 litres of DPK. (New Telegraph)