Christopher Gwabin Musa, Nigeria’s minister of defence, met with key stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry on Monday in a bid to strengthen security around energy infrastructure and drive collaboration toward boosting the nation’s crude oil production.
The engagement, which took place at the headquarters of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, in Port Harcourt on Monday, 29 June 2026, focused on charting a new course to strengthen security around critical national assets and foster closer collaboration between security agencies and industry operators.
Musa underscored the strategic importance of the oil and gas sector to Nigeria’s economy, stressing that increased crude oil production remains critical to national economic growth and improved Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He noted that achieving the Federal Government’s production targets would require sustained synergy among the Armed Forces, other security agencies, regulatory institutions, and industry stakeholders. Musa therefore called for greater information sharing, mutual trust, and collective commitment to safeguarding oil infrastructure and eliminating all forms of economic sabotage.
Olugbenga Oladipo, the commander, Joint Task Force (South-South) Operation DELTA SAFE (OPDS), said troops would continue to operate professionally and in strict compliance with the rules of engagement while sustaining aggressive operations against crude oil thieves, pipeline vandals, and other criminal elements threatening the nation’s economic assets.
