The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has intensified its operations in the Niger Delta, targeting oil thieves and vandals in a renewed effort to safeguard the country’s energy infrastructure and boost national oil production.
This was disclosed on Friday, September 19, 2025, by the Commander of the Air Component of Operation Delta Safe (AC OPDS), Group Captain Abdulafeez Opaleye, during a briefing at the 115 Special Operations Group, Port Harcourt. He said the operations followed a directive by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, to increase operational tempo across all theatres of operation.
According to Opaleye, daily surveillance and attack helicopter sorties across the oil-rich states of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River have disrupted the activities of saboteurs. These operations, he noted, have not only destroyed illegal refining sites and logistics hubs but also deterred criminals from engaging in oil theft.
“Between May and August 2025, our surveillance and armed reconnaissance missions uncovered and destroyed dozens of illegal refining facilities, neutralized militant camps, and dismantled illicit oil theft networks,” he said. “Each mission has degraded criminal capacity, making sabotage riskier and less profitable.”
Opaleye revealed that these intensified security measures have directly contributed to a rise in Nigeria’s oil production. In July 2025, the nation’s total oil output, including condensates, averaged 1.71 million barrels per day (mbpd), while crude oil alone reached 1.51 mbpd, representing a steady increase compared to previous months.
The Chief of Training and Operations (CTOP), Air Vice Marshal Francis Edosa, further highlighted the scale of operations between May and July 2025. According to him, AC OPDS conducted 117 missions, 189 sorties, and logged 192 flight hours, consuming over 60,000 litres of Jet A-1 fuel. The operations resulted in the destruction of 25 cooking tanks, 11 reservoirs, and three drums used for illegal oil refining.
“These operations demonstrate that intelligence-driven air strikes can deliver both security and economic benefits,” AVM Edosa stated.
The Nigerian Air Force reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining security in the Niger Delta to protect vital national oil infrastructure and revenue sources, ensuring that the region remains unsafe for saboteurs but conducive for legitimate oil production.
Ehimen Ejodame, Air Commodore and Director of Public Relations and Information at NAF Headquarters, emphasized that the force would continue to work closely with other security agencies to stabilize the region and maintain Nigeria’s economic lifeline.