The General Officers Commanding (GOCs), 6 and 82 Divisions, Nigerian Army, Major General Jamal Abdussalam and Major General Hassan Dada, have jointly visited illegal oil bunkering sites located at Okoloma, Oyigbo Local Government Area and Umuahale area in Ukwa West LGA in Rivers and Abia States.
The visit was part of the army’s effort to end illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta and South East regions,The locations touched by the army commanders are at the fringes of the Imo River, where the two divisions jointly conduct clearance operations from Rivers and Abia States.
The visit was a follow up to an earlier raid on one of the camps last week by troops of 6 division, aimed at availing the army commanders an on the spot assessment of the illegality perpetrated by criminals and economic saboteurs as well as boost troops morale for a job well done.
While at the fringes of the Imo River, deep into the thick forest, the GOCs were conducted through a tour by the Commander, 6 Division Garrison, Brigadier General Edet Effiong and Commander 14 Brigade, Brigadier General Olusola Diya, where they saw the hub of illegal oil bunkering, shrouded with cooking pots, boilers, surface reservoirs and huge quantities of illegal products in dug out reservoirs carefully concealed with interconnected pipes spanning several kilometers.
A statement by the Acting Deputy Director 6 Division Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma on Thursday, quoted the GOCs, Brigadier General Effiong and Brigadier General Diya as charging the troops to ensure all illegal bunkering sites were destroyed.
Brigadier General Effiong and Brigadier General Diya also reiterate President Tinubu’s directive on zero tolerance for illegal oil bunkering, charging the troops to sustain the operational tempo against this mindless criminality, warning that should the illegality be allowed to continue, it will affect the country’s economy gravely.
The GOCs who expressed their belief that the proceeds of the illegal oil bunkering were used to fund other crimes, adding all hands must be on deck to deny the enemies of the state freedom of action and ensure that their streams of funding are completely dismantled.
•INDEPENDENTNG.