JTF vows to tackle oil theft in Niger-Delta

Rear Admiral Aminu Hassan, Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF), South-South, Operation Delta Safe, has said the fight against oil theft will continue until the criminals give up.

Hassan said this while giving a status report on his operation to curb oil theft and illegal refining activities in the region.

The report was delivered during an assessment tour organized by the National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) at some illegal crude oil refining sites in Rivers.

The General Director of the Group, NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, and the Chief of the Defense Staff, Division General, were on the tour. Lucky Irabor, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, and Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Executive Director of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), among others.

Hassan said fighting oil theft was difficult due to the terrain, but his men were determined to end illegal refining and oil theft in the country.

He described the JTF’s work as a multi-agency operation covering 10 states with the collaboration of 12 law enforcement agencies.

Hassan said there were many illegal refining camps in the country, but clean-up operations had begun to ensure they were not relocated after being destroyed.

“The way we are working is the same way criminals involved in illegal refining are working, but we are ahead of them.

“Currently we are dedicated to mechanical cleaning, storage tank dismantling and removal of intake points.

“Many of the illegal refineries are down, we will continue to take them offline; They have a network of pipelines that pass through the bushes with typical reservoirs connected that in some cases continue to spill and waste.

“The reservoirs have been destroyed, if you don’t destroy the tanks completely they will rebuild and continue,” he said.

According to Hassan, the Trans Niger and Aferomu pipeline in Delta have been identified as critical areas and efforts are currently underway to clear them of oil thieves.

“In Bayelsa, the critical areas are the Okarki area, the Igbabele and Ibinebiri communities; the good news is that the Okarki area has been deactivated.

“In Rivers, within zone five, we have the community of Ibaa, which is critical after Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) identified it as a priority area to start with.

“It is also Gogokiri in Rivers, but their illegal site has been neutralized,” he added.

He lamented that the task force lost a young officer in charge of three battalions in Warri, Delta, who was shot during one of their operations.

”In some of the creeks and swampy areas, if you start the trip in the morning, you will arrive in the area in the afternoon; that’s how difficult the terrain can be.

“When illegal refiners are pushed out of a particular area, they will move to another area,” he said.

He called on community members to join the government and stakeholders in the fight against oil thieves, adding that crude oil theft was on the rise due to the patronage they were getting from the people.

Hassan stressed the need for the government to take tougher measures to deal with illegal refineries.

He further said that the task force was talking with stakeholders about how criminals would be monitored with modern technology. (VON)