Nigerian Army via the Defence Headquarters have denied claims that its personnel and other security agencies are involved in oil theft & illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region.
Answering questions from journalists on the operations of the military, the director of defence information Jimmy Akpor, said the allegations were without proof.
According to Akpor major stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have a clear understanding of how the oil industry works adding that it is unfounded to drag the military into the activities of suspected oil criminals.
He solidly reaffirmed the position of the armed forces and other security agencies in doing their best to safeguard the nation’s economic assets in the various region.
In August, group chief executive officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari in a statement alleged that churches, mosques, and security agencies as well as host communities were solidly involved in crude oil theft.
Providing information to back up his claims during a briefing on Thursday, Musa Danmadami, director of defence media operations, said oil thieves have been denied N1.2 billion by the military within two weeks of its clearance operations.
He also disclosed the navy seized N664.8M worth of crude oil, N546.7M worth of diesel; N12.2 M worth of Kerosene; and N11.8M worth of petroleum products.
He added that troops of Operation Delta Safe in collaboration with the Department of State Service (DSS) have continued to deny criminal elements freedom of action.