Defence Headquarters orders 30 gunboats for N-Delta JTF

The Defence Headquarters has ordered 30 gunboats to combat pipeline vandals, illegal bunkerers and crude oil thieves in the Niger Delta.

Commander of the Joint Task Force, JTF, code named Operation Pulo Shield, Major General Emmanuel Atewe, disclosed this in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while briefing newsmen on the activities of the task force in the year 2014.

Represented by the outgoing media coordinator, JTF, in Niger Delta, Colonel Mustapha Anka, the commander said that some of the military gunboats had already been delivered while others are on the way.

He said: “I am glad to state that Defence Headquarters has ordered 30 gunboats. Some have already been delivered while the rest are on the way.”

General Atewe added that the command impounded 53 vessels, 200 barges and destroyed 840 illegal refineries and arrested large numbers of Cotonu boats in the outgoing year.

“The JTF has vigorously carried out a sustained attack against illegal bunkering and an aggressive hunt against oil related crimes in the region with its campaign tagged, zero tolerance on oil theft.

“JTF’s vigor and determination in the war against crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities in the Niger Delta is because they affect the socio-economic development of the region and Nigeria at large.”