The Nigerian Air Force aircraft operating under Operation Delta Safe has in the last three months destroyed more than 70 illegal refining sites and 80 overhead tanks.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, said this while hosting the National Coordinator, Messrs New Guard Security and Consulting Limited, retired Maj.-Gen. Jamil Sarham, and his team at NAF Headquarters Abuja.

This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, AVM Edward Gabkwet, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mr Abubakar said that the menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism had led to a significant decline in crude oil production and substantial revenue losses to the nation.

He added that the environmental consequences of the illegal activities had also led to air pollution and waterway contamination with attendant effects on aquatic life and agriculture.

According to him, it was in response to these challenges that the armed forces were mandated to eradicate the scourge of oil theft and pipeline vandalisation in the Niger Delta region, with the aim of boosting oil production output.

He said, “Over the past year, the NAF has conducted 463 sorties in 560 flight hours and expended 175,000 litres of Jet A-1 fuel in air operations over the Niger Delta region. In bolstering these efforts, some newly inducted platforms have recently been deployed to the region and beyond. This is to enable the NAF to cover more grounds as it liaises with other security agencies in degrading the activities of these criminals in the region.”

The CAS lauded the team’s exceptional military background, expressing optimism that their collaboration with other security agencies in addressing the challenges of crude oil theft would add bites to the ongoing efforts.

He said that the visit had laid a solid foundation for greater cooperation and synergy between the NAF and the firm with potential positive impacts on Nigeria’s national defence and security.

According to him, the visit marked a pivotal step towards enhancing the security of Nigeria’s oil infrastructure and addressing the economic and environmental challenges posed by oil theft.

(NAN)