Since January 2025, more than 103 Illegal Refinery Sites have been destroyed, and 34 suspects linked to crude oil theft have been arrested. In 2024 alone, a total of 215 suspects and 26 vessels were arrested, while 468 Illegal Refinery Sites were deactivated.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, said this is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to eradicate Crude Oil Theft in order to ramp up Nigeria’s oil production and exports. The Nigerian Navy's efforts have a positive impact on Nigeria’s crude oil production.
The Naval Staff, ably represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Ibrahim Abdullahi Dewu disclosed this during an international Press conference at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja.
The Naval Chief also noted that an estimated quantity of 6.5 million litres of stolen crude oil and 7 million litres of illegally refined Automated Gas Oil were seized and appropriately handled.
He added that 361 wooden boats, 1,107 dugout pits and 279 storage tanks were deactivated. Also, 39 wooden boats and one ship involved in this menace were seized. Additionally, approximately 773 thousand litres of crude oil and 150 thousand litres of refined products have been recovered this year.
This can only be put in perspective by reviewing the noble achievements of the current Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral EI Ogalla.
Under the current leadership, the Nigerian Navy has attained the highest state of operational readiness in the discharge of its constitutional roles.
In particular, the fight against Crude Oil Theft has been a huge success under the auspices of OPERATION DELTA SANITY, which was first initiated by the Chief of the Naval Staff in January 2024 and re-launched on 30 December 2025 as OPERATION DELTA SANITY II.
Rear Admiral Dewu said the Nigerian Navy has continued to maintain round-the-clock situational awareness of Nigeria’s maritime domain, which extends to the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone, through our Maritime Domain Awareness Facilities.
He said these facilities comprise the Falcon Eye and Regional Maritime Awareness Capacity Systems. Both systems enable early detection and swift response to incidents within Nigeria’s maritime environment. This has ensured that Nigeria maintained its zero-piracy status in the International Maritime Bureau piracy rating.
In furtherance to this, the Nigerian Navy has taken the initiative to ensure that the entire Gulf of Guinea is free of piracy and other maritime crimes. Hence, in November 2024, we hosted the 8th Symposium of Heads of Navies and Coast Guards of Gulf of Guinea nations here in Abuja.
Pertinent amongst the issues discussed during the symposium was the Operationalization of a Combined Maritime Task Force for the region. Once the Combined Task Force is operationalized, all Gulf of Guinea States will contribute men, materials and assets to achieve a coordinated regional presence at sea.
Furthermore, in February this year, Nigeria's Minister of Defence, His Excellency, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar CON, mni signed an agreement with the African Union for the provision of strategic sea lift by the Nigerian Navy in support of the African Union’s peace support operations, disaster response, personnel movement and humanitarian operations.
He emphasised that as of today, the Nigerian Navy is fully capable and ready to provide service to the African Union. In line with the Nigerian Navy’s Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy, which delineates our areas of operations from Back Waters through the Exclusive Economic Zone, up to the Out of Area and Land Based Operations, the Navy has concluded plans to establish a Special Operations Command in Makurdi, Benue State. #
The Command will be situated on the North Bank of the River Benue and would complement the efforts of sister services and other security agencies to improve the security situation in the Middle Belt region.
In terms of fleet renewal, the Nigerian Navy has taken delivery of more platforms in support of all our maritime security operations. Notable amongst these are 3 new patrol vessels and 3 newly acquired helicopters, which will be commissioned during the Navy week.
The new patrol vessels are NNS SHERE, NNS FARO and NNS IKOGOSI. All 3 vessels are about 38 meters long with an endurance of 5 days. Two of the vessels were acquired from Singapore and one from South Korea and they all arrived Nigeria in December 2024. These vessels will serve as Seaward Defence boats within Nigeria’s littorals up to the 24 nautical mile contiguous zone and when necessary, go beyond in hot pursuit as necessary. Essentially, they will improve our presence at sea. Additionally, 3 more Agusta Westland 109 Trekker helicopters will be commissioned, bringing the total number of helicopters in the Nigerian Navy inventory to 14, thus improving our air operations exponentially.
As you are aware the maritime domain is common to all because maritime boundaries cannot be accurately defined like land boundaries. Hence the Nigerian Navy has staged and participated in several local and international exercises with Gulf of Guinea States and foreign partners to achieve synergy in maritime security. Most important is the recently concluded EXERCISE OBANGAME EXPRESS 2025, which was conducted from 10 – 16 May 2025.
This exercise brought together navies of Gulf of Guinea states and foreign partners including USA, Brazil, Italy and Spain. I am happy to say that it was a very successful exercise, which underscored the resolve of Gulf of Guinea nations to present a common front in the fight against maritime crimes.