NAF bombs oil thieves, boosts production

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says sustained airstrikes on illegal refineries in the Niger Delta have boosted the country’s oil production to 1.71 million barrels per day.

Commander of the Air Component of Operation Delta Safe, Group Capt. Abdulafeez Opaleye, disclosed this during a briefing at NAF Headquarters, Abuja, on Friday.

According to him, daily sorties ordered by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, have been targeting oil theft networks across seven Niger Delta states.

The raids, he said, neutralised 12 criminals, arrested six suspects, and destroyed several illegal refining sites, including cooking tanks and reservoirs.

“Each mission not only degraded criminal capacity but also reinforced deterrence, making sabotage riskier and less profitable,” Opaleye stated.

He noted that security gains were translating into improved oil output, with crude alone standing at 1.51 million barrels per day in July 2025.

Also speaking, Chief of Training and Operations, AVM Francis Edosa, revealed that the unit executed 117 missions, 189 sorties and 192 flight hours between May and July.

The operations, he said, consumed over 60,000 litres of Jet A-1 fuel while destroying 25 cooking tanks, 11 reservoirs and three drums used by oil thieves.

“These actions prove that intelligence-driven air operations deliver both security and economic dividends,” Edosa added.

He assured that the NAF would sustain the tempo to stabilize the Niger Delta, protect oil revenues and keep Nigeria’s skies safe for legitimate operators.