Oil Thieves, Pipeline Vandals not Comfortable with Our Deadly Strikes, Night Patrols – Opaleye
Oil thieves and Pipeline Vandals have continued to witness bitter and horrible times courtesy of deadly airstrikes and efficient night Patrols by the officers and men of the 115 Special Operations Group(SOG) of the Nigerian Air Force, in Port-Harcourt which also serves as the air component of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS).
The development is sequel to the destruction of 49 illegal cooking tanks and 16 boats between January and May 2025.
Group Captain Abdulafeez Opaleye, Commander of the 115 Special Operations Group, stated this while interacting with Defence Correspondents in a media tour of the unit’s operations in Port Harcourt.
Group Captain Opaleye who also doubles as the Commander of the air component of Operation Delta Safe(OPDS) noted that within the period under review 20 reservoirs/drums used for the storage of stolen crude oil and refined products were also destroyed.
“Our air component conducted a total of 172 missions within the period, clocking 268 hours and 40 minutes of flight time and consuming 87,938 liters of Jet-A1 aviation fuel”, he said.
“The unit, as the air element of OPDS, also deploys ground troops in collaboration with other sister security agencies for Internal Security operations within the state,” Opaleye explained. “The operations serve as a standby force to combat criminal activities in the state and surrounding areas.”
“Our internal security teams are routinely deployed to both known and suspected hotspots based on intelligence, and their operations are characterized by fluidity, flexibility, and intelligence-driven decision-making”, Opaleye further said.
Giving a vivid x-ray of their operations on ohow targets are identified and selected for airstrikes, Opaleye said: “Some of these locations are initially scanned, and even when access is difficult due to potential resistance or ambushes, our aircraft can reach and strike those targets with accuracy. Using onboard surveillance cameras, we can identify and measure targets precisely to minimize collateral damage.”
According to him, the end result of the operation is to protect oil and gas infrastructure without causing additional harm or damage.
He reminded his visitors that the Air Force is fully committed to avoiding civilian casualties during their operations, adding that
“Our strikes are designed to be as accurate as possible. While we are targeting criminal activities, we are also mindful of the human element. So far, there have been no reports of civilian casualties from our operations. Any reported collateral damage has not involved human lives, and we remain extremely cautious in that regard”.
