The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft and other illicit economic activities in the Niger Delta, destroying an illegal refinery site and arresting 37 suspected illegal miners in separate operations in Rivers and Bayelsa states.
The operations were carried out under Operation Delta Sentinel, the Navy’s ongoing campaign aimed at curbing crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and related crimes across Nigeria’s maritime environment.
In Rivers State, personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder, discovered an illegal refinery site during an Anti-Crude Oil Theft patrol around the Ojekiri general area along the Alakiri River. The patrol team found about 10 dugout pits at the site containing approximately 45,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil.
According to the Navy, the illegal facility and the stored crude oil were destroyed in line with operational procedures. However, the suspected operators fled the scene on sighting the naval patrol team.
In a separate operation in Bayelsa State, personnel of NNS Soroh arrested 37 suspected illegal miners at Anyama Jetty in Yenagoa. The suspects were reportedly apprehended while attempting to transfer an unspecified quantity of black sand from a wooden boat into two trucks waiting at the jetty.
The Navy said the arrested suspects, along with the trucks, wooden boat and the recovered mineral resources, were subsequently handed over to Operation Doo-Akpo, a Bayelsa State security outfit, for further investigation.
The operations followed a directive by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, instructing naval formations and units to intensify efforts against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage in Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The Navy reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the momentum of Operation Delta Sentinel through intelligence-driven operations and collaboration with relevant stakeholders to safeguard the nation’s critical assets and economic interests.
