By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Commander of the South-south Unit of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, OPDS, Olugbenga Oladipo, has reaffirmed the Command’s unflinching commitment towards decisively tackling oil theft and other forms of economic sabotage in the country.
He, also, pledged the readiness of the Task Force to adequately protect oil and gas infrastructures, and other critical national assets within its area of jurisdiction.
Oladipo who spoke on Saturday at a media briefing in Calabar, announced the interception of three vessels, fully laden with stolen crude estimated at the cost of over N4.2 billion.
According to the Task Force Commander, the intelligence-driven operations which began on Wednesday night, April 8, 2026, also led to the arrest of 26 persons who were crew members of the seized vessels.
He disclosed that the operations which commenced at about 11: 45 pm on Wednesday, resulted in OPDS troops intercepting two vessels, namely MT Mkpodu and MT Westaf, all within the the Calabar/ Akwa Ibom maritime area.
He emphasized that earlier reports had indicated that the two vessels were involved in crude oil theft, following which they were trailed and arrested at Wellhead within the Joint Task Force Operation Area.
According to Oladipo, at the time of interception, the two vessels had a combined crew of 26 members on board.
He further informed that the two vessels had a combined 939 metric tonnes of suspected stolen crude as at the time of interception.
“Motor Tanker Mkpodu was intercepted in the process of siphoning crude oil, and was found laden with an estimated 480 metric tonnes of suspected stolen.
“Motor Tanker Westaf, on the other hand, had about 459 metric tonnes of suspected crude oil onboard at the time of arrest”, the Task Force Commander stated.
According to him, sequel to the seizure of the two vessels, naval and air assets, including NNS Shere, NNS Ose, and a Nigerian Air Force helicopter, were deployed to aid the operation.
While the helicopter provided real-time aerial surveillance, the naval components secured the intercepted vessels offshore, as well as facilitating their movement, to the naval jetty in Calabar, the Commander added.
Oladipo disclosed that the third vessel-MT Stellos K ,was subsequently arrested by operatives of NNS Gongola, on April 10, 2026, as a result of follow-up intelligence .
While reaffirming the unwavering commitment of the Defence Headquarters and the Nigerian Navy to the task of combating oil theft in the country, Oladipo emphasized the importance of inter-agency collaboration, and intelligence sharing in effectively tackling all forms of economic sabotage.
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
