Oil theft: Air force to deploy aircraft in S’ South
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal
Sadiq Abubakar, has said the Nigerian Air Force would deploy a maritime
aircraft to the South-South region to assist the Nigerian Navy in
policing the creeks in Cross River, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
Abubakar said this on Thursday in
Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, during his maiden visit to
the 207 Special Mobility Group of the Nigerian Air Force.
He said that the aircraft would assist
in patrolling the creeks of the South-South, with a view to preventing
oil theft and pipeline vandalism which are the economic resources of the
country.
The Chief of Air Staff said, “We are
working with the Navy. And very soon, we will deploy a maritime aircraft
that would assist them in their activities.
“There is a comprehensive plan on ground
already through the Operation Pulo Shield and the military. They are
working together to ensure that petroleum infrastructure in the
South-South are given adequate protection.
“We are working towards getting rid of
these criminals. We need intelligence information too from members of
the public that would help us curb this menace of oil theft and pipeline
vandalism,” he said.
On insurgency, Abubakar said that the military was at the tail end of eliminating the activities of the Boko Haram sect.
According to him, the porous movement of
the sect in long convoys from one village to the other, killing
innocent people, has been curtailed.
He said that the military has recaptured most of the territories that were previously in the control of the sect.
“We are not only winning the war against
Boko Haram; we are actually at the finishing end of the battle. It is
just a matter of time; this issue of insurgency will definitely come to
an end.
“If you visit Maiduguri today and
witness the level of economic activities going on, you will believe with
me that peace is fast returning back to that area,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment