The Defence Headquarters says troops of Operation Delta Safe have in the last two weeks, discovered and destroyed 34 illegal refining sites and apprehended 16 suspected oil thieves in the Niger Delta region.

The director, defence media operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, said this at a bi-weekly news briefing on military operations across the country, on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Buba said the troops also denied oil thieves the sum of N765.8 million and recovered 55 assorted weapons and 96 assorted ammunition during the period.

According to him, the troops discovered and destroyed 71 dugout pits, 36 boats, 83 storage tanks, five vehicles, four motorcycles, 58 cooking ovens, five pumping machines, three generators and three speedboats.

“Also, troops recovered 569,400 litres of stolen crude oil, 486,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) also known as diesel and 59,500 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

“The military will continue to pursue aggressive military operations against violent extremist groups seeking to undermine the security of the country and conduct violence against the people.

“Accordingly, the armed forces remain focused on its core mission and will continually make adjustments along the way to better protect citizens, while isolating and annihilating those groups constituting a security nuisance to the country,” he said.

(NAN)