ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The Defence Headquarters has launched a special operation codenamed ‘Octopus Grip’ to combat oil theft, illegal refineries, pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities in the South-South states of Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, performed the formal launch at Bassambiri in Nembe Local Government area of Bayelsa State.
The CDS warned oil thieves, vandals and other criminals to steer clear of the area or face the consequences.
The newly launched ‘Operation Octopus Grip’ is expected to last for 90 days (three months).
Irabor stated that in line with their constitutional mandate, the nation’s Armed Forces through the Defence Headquarters was conducting several operations aimed at addressing identified security threats across the various geo-political zones in the country including the Operation Delta Safe in the Southsouth.
Represented by the Chief of Defence Training and Operations, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, he noted that the operations had yielded positive results in curtailing activities of oil thieves, pipeline vandals, kidnapping, sea pirates, communal violence and other criminal activities in the region.
Irabor, however, said there was the need to build on the successes achieved so far, hence the launch of a fresh operation codenamed ‘Operation OCTOPUS GRIP’.
He said in order to make the operation more effective, troops of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) had been given new rules of engagement to deal with the menace, warning perpetrators to steer clear or face severe consequences.
Earlier, Commander of the Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Aminu Hassan, said the OOG was aimed at reinforcing and sustaining the successes recorded in Operations Accord one and two which took place from December 2017 to April 2022.
He said the Operation Accord one and two resulted in the arrests of 206 suspects, destruction of 682 illegal oil refining camps, and 10 militants and pirates camps in the joint operation areas.
Hassan explained that at the end of the new operation, it was expected that activities of oil thieves in the area would have reduced drastically and the integrity of oil and gas installations and facilities would be relatively assured.
The highpoint of the event attended by top military officers and service commanders of various security agencies in the joint operation areas was the formal inauguration of the ‘Operation Octopus Grip’ by the representative of the Chief of Defence Staff at the Bassambiri jetty.