The Nigerian Army has announced that soldiers from its 6th Division conducted operations against oil theft in the Niger Delta, leading to the dismantling of 18 illegal refining sites and the arrest of 17 individuals.
The operation, conducted between February 17 and 23 in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states, also resulted in the recovery of over 25,000 litres of stolen products and the decommissioning of 10 boats.
Danjuma Jonah, the acting deputy director of 6th Division Army Public Relations, confirmed the operation in a statement released on Sunday in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.
He reported the destruction of two active, unauthorized refining sites and the interception of three wooden boats carrying more than 9,000 litres of stolen crude at Akuku-Toru Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers.
In another operation, the troops seized a truck loaded with over 3,000 litres of stolen crude at Ogale Junction on the Eket-Port Harcourt Expressway. Jonah also revealed that an illegal oil bunkering site was uncovered in Okwuzi, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, where more than 2,100 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) were found stored in sacks.
Additionally, a wooden boat carrying over 1,000 litres of stolen crude was intercepted in a creek along the Ogaji-Ama axis in Bukuma. During clearance operations in the Imo River, the soldiers dismantled two unauthorized refining sites, destroyed 23 drum pots and 14 drum receivers, and confiscated over 2,000 litres of stolen crude.
“In Bayelsa State, at Clough Creek in the Ekeremor LGA, three unauthorised refining sites were dismantled, a pumping machine was recovered, and more than 3,500 litres of crude were recovered, alongside the decommissioning of two wooden boats. An additional operation near Biseni in the Yenagoa LGA led to the deactivation of one unauthorised refining site and the recovery of over 2,000 litres of stolen crude,” the statement reads.
“In related developments in Delta state, troops intercepted a Toyota Camry (registration number Anambra JJT 876 AE) carrying 16 cellophane bags containing an unspecified quantity of illegally refined AGO at Oton Village in the Sapele LGA.
“A subsequent operation led to the arrest of six suspects, and a tricycle transporting several sacks of illegally refined products was also intercepted along the Ughelli-Patani expressway.”
