There’s no telling that Nigeria under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose government clocked two years in office on May 29, 2025 needs all the money to execute his ambitious policies and programmes at a time expectations of a better life still run high in many homes. And the President has not hidden his search for all the hidden naira and kobo to carry out his projects to fulfil campaign promises made to Nigerians.
With an eye on revenue expected from the non-oil sector and the new tax regime, much of the search for the hidden revenues is in the oil-rich Niger Delta region where Nigeria’s economic stability currently lies. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu who was given express presidential backing to ensure that nothing goes wrong in the Niger Delta has no problems reading President Bola Tinubu’s mind going by their long relationship.
Nuhu Ribadu has consequently put necessary measures through the various state security infrastructure to ensure that the safety, security and stability of the oil-rich region. The NSA undertakes all discussions and processes to ensure crude production goes on unabated without the slightest threat of disruption or sabotage.
At the center of all the security undertakings in the Niger Delta is Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) currently led by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa whose appointment clocks two years on June 19, 2025 though he officially mounted the saddle on June 23, 2023 when he took over from General LEO Irabor (retd).
One of the major areas of attention by the CDS is the Niger Delta where he has done much to ensure that the Joint Task Force South-South Operation Delta Safe (JTF SS OPDS) is handled by competent, professional, patriotic and committed commanders.
This particular area of responsibility (AOR) parades some of the best officers of the armed forces, carefully and painstakingly chosen by their respective Service Chiefs with the mandate to keep the peace and safety of the Niger Delta otherwise couched in the naming of the JTF SS OPDS.
Since its inauguration on June 24, 2016 by the then CDS, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, Operation Delta Safe remains one of the key flagship AORs in the country to which the nation looks up to deliver on its mandate. It has invariably emerged as a national bulwark against economic sabotage through hemorrhaging crude oil thefts, illegal bunkering, sea piracy, oil pipeline attacks and general insecurity.
This multi-agency task force has pursued its mandate and mission with ruthless efficiency protecting critical national assets and preventing avoidable production in the oil and gas sector while also gaining the confidence of host communities through delivering community safety, peace and harmony.
By superintending over a vast, forested and mangrove terrain spanning Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers States, as well as portions of Ondo, Edo, Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Imo, and Cross River, the JTF SS OPDS operating in the Joint Operations Area (JOA) has proved to be critical to the Nigeria’s oil output particularly in the professional manner and style it has tackled criminality masked as pipeline vandalism, illegal bunkering, and militancy.
The current Commander of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) based in Igbogene, Bayelsa State is Rear Admiral John Okeke Magudu whose strategic leadership prides on a command structure that has the respective arms of Nigeria’s armed forces. The position is a Nigerian Navy seat because of the peculiar water habitat of the region reputed to be about 75 per cent water and 25 per cent land.
Recently, he played host to a team of seasoned Defence Correspondents led by a senior naval officer, Commander Godwin Egbunu of the Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DMO) at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
At every point of the media tour which simultaneously took about 60 other Correspondents to joint military operations across the country, Egbunu said, ”The CDS in his wisdom decided to facilitate the tours to enable the selected Defence Correspondents to go round and see for themselves how the operations are executed so that they can accurately report what they see. It is to give true perspective of our operational activities and also to avoid manipulation of our operational occurrences by enemies of the Nigerian state to perpetrate their evil acts of portraying the country in a bad light’’.The successful visit to OPDS was an eye-opener of sorts. What stood out was Rear Admiral Noel Madugu’s unique style of running the operation without any gap. Perhaps due to some prior engagements, he was not immediately on ground to receive the senior journalists but the command structure left nothing out revealing the military tradition of leaving no gaps in the chain of command.
He was promptly and effectively represented by the Maritime Component Commander, Commodore Patrick Meteke who gave a good account of himself while particularly aided by the Chief of Staff of OPDS, Brigadier General U.G. Yusuf whose depth and dexterity was already known to some of the visiting newsmen while at the Nigerian Army War College where he served as a very effective and brilliant Directing Staff. The synergy is unmistakable.
Commodore Meteke’s command of maritime operations gave clear insight into his mastery of the domain especially sea-related tactical and operational issues such as sea robbery, illegal bunkering, piracy and other water criminalities in Nigeria’s coastal ecosystem.
It is to Commodore Meteke’s credit that the Correspondents were able to make sense of OPDS’ valiant accomplishments in the first quarter of 2025. He gave out the meat of the story in sterling fashion, saying that the task force recorded 89 percent operational success rate and successfully demobilizing over 570 illegal oil refining sites, 918 storage facilities, and 194 large wooden boats used for transporting stolen products.
According to him, more than 3.5 million litres of crude oil, 1.5 million litres of illegally refined diesel (AGO), and thousands of litres of other petroleum products were intercepted and recovered in steady operations culminating in the arrest of 681 suspects, many of whom have since been prosecuted.
He was not done, Commodore Meteke added: ‘’Terminal Factors on major pipelines -Trans Niger, Trans Ramos, and Trans Escravos – improved to 95 percent, while national crude oil production surged from 1.2 million barrels per day in June 2024 to 1.85 million as of May 25, 2025’’.
That the clearance of 13 militant and pirate camps has drastically reduced sea robbery and piracy in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea to their lowest levels — in some cases, zero with intelligence-led raids also recovering 653 illicit weapons, is indeed sweet music to the ears capable of gladdening the President, Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Tinubu to no end.The JTF’s non-kinetic template through the Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) and community engagement, thereby resolving over 102 corporate social responsibility (CSR) related disputes between oil companies and host communities — including major firms like Chevron, AITEO, NAOC, and SEEPCO deserve praise particularly in resting frayed nerves and calming tensions, to foster peace and sustainable harmony.
Its consistent collaboration with Pipeline Private Security Contractors (PSCs) such as Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd, PINL, and others through the Joint Arms Boarding Team (JABT) and fortnightly OP PLUG meetings with the NNPCL, reveals huge strategic engagement, intelligence sharing, and problem-solving.
This piece would be incomplete with mentioning the seamless medley of superior firepower, deliberate diplomacy, and coordination across 12 national security agencies such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, DSS, NSCDC, Customs, Immigration, Police, and EFCC thereby executing the strategic leadership initiative of inter-service jointness and synergy which the CDS, General Christopher Musa has popularized.
For exhibiting the finest of professionalism and effective leadership to the boots on ground, the example of JTF SS OPDS under Rear Admiral Noel Madugu with Commodore Patrick Meteke and Brigadier General U.G. Yusuf as able lieutenants is a reminder that we have an armed forces to be proud of, and that in the effusion of time, the existential security challenges across the country is but a matter of time. The Niger Delta is unsafe without Operation Delta Safe.
Emeka Nwankpa, publisher of Soundbite Online News and Nigerian Spokesman Magazine wrote from Abuja.
