News
Military destroys 40 illegal refining sites, apprehends 53 suspects
The Defence Headquarters says the troops of Operation Delta Safe and other subsidiary operations have in the last two weeks discovered and destroyed 40 illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta Region. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, made this known at bi-weekly news briefing on the operations of the armed forces on Thursday in Abuja. Danmadami said the troops also apprehended 53 suspected oil thieves and other criminals within the period in various operations across the South South zone. He said the troops had continued the war against oil theft and illegal refineries and other criminal activities through aggressive and increased tempo in raids and clearance operations as well as patrol amongst other activities.
According to him, the land, maritime, and air component of the operation Delta Safe conducted operational activities at the creeks, waterways, high sea, towns, cities of Bayelsa, Delta and River to checkmate the activities of criminal element and deny them freedom of action. Danmadami said the troops, in the conduct of operation Octopus Grip had on Jan. 30, discovered and destroyed 10 bags and five jerrican (25Ltrs) of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil along Tuomo-Atamasa flow line in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State as well as recovered a loaded doubled barrel gun. He said the troops had on Feb. 3, discovered and destroyed an illegal refining site, seven metal ovens, 12 metal drums, 10 dugout pits, six storage tanks and 47 cellophane bags containing illegally refined products.
“Cumulatively, within the weeks under review, troops discovered and destroyed 40 illegal refining sites, 136 storage facilities, 66 ovens, 39 wooden boats, one generator, 11 vehicles and two tricycles. Additionally, troops recovered 222,000 litres of suspected crude oil, 83,000 litres of illegal refined Automotive Gas Oil and 1000 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene while 53 suspected economic saboteurs were arrested. All recovered items and apprehended suspects have been handed over to the appropriate authority for further action,” he said. Danmadami said the air component conducted air interdiction operations to several illegal refining sites and creeks at Lelekiri, Owoko and Biemekiri in Rivers as well as Ogiritoro in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3.
According to him, over head the air crew observed some site to be active with illegal refining activities at the locations, while some were observed to have been abandoned. “The active targets locations were engaged with weapons and the location were observed to have exploded in an inferno after the strike, while the illegal refining equipment were equally destroyed,” he added. In the South East Zone, Danmadami said that troops and other security agents had sustained the offensive against the activities of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network criminals. He said that the troops had within the period, conducted operational activities in villages, forest, towns and cities of Anambra, Abia, Imo and Enugu States geared towards restoring peace and normalcy to the region. He said the troops had within the period recovered three AK47 rifle, one dane gun, one double barrel gun, one SMG, one tear gas launcher, six locally made pistol, 22 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, and 11 AK47 magazines.
“Also recovered are, 260 rounds of 223 Remington ammunitions, one travor 21 rifle loaded with 23 rounds of 5.56mm ammo,11 expended cartridges, political banners, one vehicle, Nigerian police personnel uniforms, combat boots IPOB flyers, three motorcycles, and two mobile phones amongst others items. Troops equally neutralised four terrorists and arrested nine terrorists. All recovered items and apprehended suspects have been handed over to the appropriate authority for further action,” he said. In the South West Zone, defence spokesman said the troops of Operation AWATSE had on Jan. 27 apprehended a suspected criminal who was to waybill some arms in his possession at Iddo motor park in Lagos State. He said the troops recovered one hand grenade, 25 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, one roll of wire alongside other items suspected to be used for Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) from the suspect.
Danmadami added that the troops had on Jan. 30, arrested 120 suspected drug peddlers during a raid on some communities in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagan. He said the troops recovered one locally fabricated pistol, 10kg of cannabis, five grains of methamphetamine, 3Kg of tramadol, eight mobile phones, assorted charms amongst other items. (NAN)
A new technology transfer agreement between the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) and the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) is expected to open more job opportunities, improve local skills, and expand access to advanced technology for ordinary Nigerians.
In a press statement reaching Vanguard on Friday, the MoU aims to strengthen industrial development, support local content, and create clearer pathways for Nigerians to benefit from China’s growing investments in the country.
PICTT Chairman, Dr Dahiru Mohammed, said the partnership will immediately begin coordinated programmes that support local participation in infrastructure and industrial projects.
Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr John Uwajumogu, said the deal will help attract high value investments that can stimulate job creation and strengthen Nigeria’s economy.
NCSP Head of International Relations, Ms Judy Melifonwu, highlighted that Nigerians stand to gain from expanded STEM scholarships, technical training, access to modern technology, and collaboration across key sectors including steel, agriculture, automobile parks, and cultural industries.
The NCSP Director-General reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to measurable results, noting that the partnership with PICTT will prioritise initiatives that deliver direct national impact.
The MoU signals a new phase of Nigeria–China cooperation focused on practical delivery, local content, and opportunities that improve everyday livelihoods.
EU regulators launched an antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms on Thursday over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in its WhatsApp messenger that would block rivals, hardening Europe’s already tough stance on Big Tech. The move, reported earlier by Reuters and the Financial Times, is the latest action by European Union regulators against large technology firms such as Amazon and Alphabet’s Google as the bloc seeks to balance support for the sector with efforts to curb its expanding influence.
Europe’s tough stance – a marked contrast to more lenient U.S. regulation – has sparked an industry pushback, particularly by U.S. tech titans, and led to criticism from the administration of U. S. President Donald Trump. The European Commission said that the investigation will look into Meta’s new policy that would limit other AI providers’ access to WhatsApp, a potential boost for its own Meta AI system integrated into the platform earlier this year.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the move was to prevent dominant firms from “abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors”. She added interim measures could be imposed to block Meta’s new WhatsApp AI policy rollout. “AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond,” she said. This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space.”
A WhatsApp spokesperson called the claims “baseless”, adding that the emergence of chatbots on its platforms had put a “strain on our systems that they were not designed to support”, a reference to AI systems from other providers. “Still, the AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems.” The EU was the first in the world to establish a comprehensive legal framework for AI, setting out guardrails for AI systems and rules for certain high-risk applications in the AI Act.
Meta AI, a chatbot and virtual assistant, has been built into WhatsApp’s interface across European markets since March. The Commission said a new policy fully applicable from January 15, 2026, may block competing AI providers from reaching customers via the platform. Ribera said the probe came on the back of complaints from small AI developers about the WhatsApp policy. The Interaction Company of California, which has developed AI assistant Poke.com, has taken its grievance to the EU competition enforcer. Spanish AI startup Luzia has also talked to the Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Marvin von Hagen, co-founder and CEO of The Interaction Company of California, said if Meta was allowed to roll out its new policy, “millions of European consumers will be deprived of the possibility of enjoying new and innovative AI assistants”. Meta also risks a fine of as much as 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.
Italy’s antitrust watchdog opened a parallel investigation in July into allegations that Meta leveraged its market power by integrating an AI tool into WhatsApp, expanding the probe in November to examine whether Meta further abused its dominance by blocking rival AI chatbots from the messaging platform. The antitrust probe is a more traditional means of investigation than the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s landmark legislation currently used to scrutinize Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud services for potential curbs. Reuters
The spouses and children of billionaires inherited more wealth in 2025 than in any previous year since reporting began in 2015, according to UBS’s Billionaire Ambitions Report published on Thursday. In the 12 months to April, 91 people became billionaires through inheritance, collectively receiving $298 billion, up more than a third from 2024, the Swiss bank said. “These heirs are proof of a multi-year wealth transfer that’s intensifying,” UBS executive Benjamin Cavalli said.
The report is based on a survey of some of UBS’s super-rich clients and a database that tracks the wealth of billionaires across 47 markets in all world regions. At least $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire children over the next 15 years, the bank calculates.
Most of this inheritance growth is set to take place in the United States, with India, France, Germany and Switzerland next on the list, UBS estimated. However, billionaires are highly mobile, especially younger ones, which could change that picture, it added. The search for a better quality of life, geopolitical concerns and tax considerations are driving decisions to relocate, according to the report.
In Switzerland, where $206 billion will be inherited over the next 15 years according to the bank, voters on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected 50 per cent tax on inherited fortunes of $62 million or more, after critics said it could trigger an exodus of wealthy people.
Switzerland, the UAE, the U.S. and Singapore are among billionaires’ preferred destinations, UBS’s Cavalli said. “In Switzerland, Sunday’s vote may have helped to increase the country’s appeal again,” he said. Reuters
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