The Nigerian Navy has recorded fresh operational gains in its ongoing crackdown on crude oil theft and other forms of economic sabotage in the Niger Delta, destroying an illegal refinery site in Rivers State and arresting 37 suspected illegal miners in Bayelsa State.
The operations were carried out under Operation Delta Sentinel, the Navy’s intensified security campaign against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and related criminal activities in the region.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Director of Naval Information, Captain A.A. Folorunsho, said personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder uncovered and dismantled an illegal refinery site during an Anti-Crude Oil Theft patrol around the Ojekiri general area in Rivers State.
According to the statement, the illegal refining camp was located along the Alakiri River and contained about 10 dugout pits loaded with an estimated 45,000 litres of stolen crude oil.
Folorunsho said the site and the recovered crude were destroyed in line with extant operational procedures, while the suspected operators fled on sighting the naval patrol team.
In a separate operation in Bayelsa State, personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Soroh, acting on credible intelligence and in compliance with the Bayelsa State Government’s ban on black sand mining, arrested 37 suspected illegal miners at Anyama Jetty in Yenagoa.
The suspects were reportedly intercepted while attempting to offload an unspecified quantity of black sand from a wooden boat into two trucks waiting at the jetty.
The Navy said the suspects, along with the two trucks, the wooden boat and the recovered mineral resources, were handed over to Operation DOO-AKPO, the Bayelsa State Government’s security outfit, for further investigation.
The Navy linked the latest successes to the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, who recently ordered naval formations and units to intensify operations against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other criminal activities threatening Nigeria’s maritime economy.
Reaffirming its commitment, the Navy said it would sustain the momentum of Operation Delta Sentinel by deploying intelligence-driven and technology-backed operations to protect Nigeria’s critical national assets and economic interests in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
