By Deborah Nnamdi
The Nigerian Navy has announced plans to deploy armed fighter drones to intensify the fight against illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, disclosed this during the flag-off ceremony of Operation Delta Sanity 2 at the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder Jetty in Port Harcourt on Monday.
Ogalla stated, “In January 2024, the Nigerian Navy launched a Special Maritime Security Operation in the Niger Delta codenamed Operation Delta Sanity. The special operation was designed to curb oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and other criminalities towards ensuring a secure maritime domain for increased economic activities in line with the President, Commander-in-Chief’s agenda for national economic prosperity and poverty eradication.
Since the launch, the operation recorded several successes, which led to the arrests of numerous vessels and suspects involved in oil theft, including the identification and deactivation of several illegal refining sites.
These successes led to significant improvements in legitimate activities in the maritime environment and increased Nigeria’s daily crude oil production, as several oil companies reported 100 per cent terminal factor.”
Ogalla emphasized the need for armed drones to access hard-to-reach areas where illicit activities occur.
“We realize that some of these areas are so difficult to penetrate that even the smallest drones that we have cannot go to those places.Therefore, we require these armed attack drones so that when we are sure that this is where this thing is taking place, we only guide the drones to go to that place to deactivate them.”
“Rejigging the operation will involve improved deployment of maritime domain awareness infrastructure, increased aerial surveillance using our newly acquired air assets, and increased intelligence gathering for enhanced situational awareness and efficient maritime security operations.”
The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), , highlighted the importance of the initiative in increasing oil production.
He said: “When I became minister, we were doing barely a million barrels per day, but today we are doing 1.8 million barrels per day, and our target is to do at least three million barrels by this same time in 2025.
“I believe that with this development, we will be able to address that problem. That Will automatically lead to an increase in the number of barrels we produce per day, and that means more money to enable us to fund our budget, more money for states, the Federal Government, and Local Governments.
“The Navy needs the support of other security agencies to sustain the fight. The Federal Government will continue to support the security agencies to achieve the target and increase oil production.
”The Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Saheed Akinwande, outlined the operation’s achievements since its inception.
He said, “Since its inception, a total of 215 suspects have been arrested while about 468 illegal refinery sites were deactivated in accordance with extant regulations.
Furthermore, an estimated quantity of 6.5 million litres of stolen crude oil and seven million litres of illegally refined AGO were seized and appropriately handled.
“A total of 361 wooden boats, 1,107 dugout pits, and 279 storage tanks were deactivated, while 26 vessels were arrested, among others.”
Lokpobiri reiterated the government’s commitment to achieving the three million barrels daily target.
