The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER has busted a massive illegal refining site in Okwuzi community, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Council of Rivers State, dealing a significant blow to crude oil thieves.
The raid, codenamed “Operation Delta Sanity 2,” uncovered over 200,000 litres of stolen Automotive Gas Oil, known as diesel, worth millions of naira. Two suspects, including the facility’s owner, were arrested.
Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Desmond Igbo, who revealed this during a media tour at the site, said efforts are ongoing to apprehend all involved parties, adding that the suspects will be handed over to prosecuting agencies.
He stressed that the discovery was made possible through meticulous intelligence gathering.
Igbo disclosed that navy personnel uncovered a compound where illicit activities occurred. He said the compound was used as an illegal refining site, where siphoned crude oil from pipelines is refined into AGO and stored in sacks, drums, and tanks in a poultry farm.
He said: “The discovery was made through a concerted intelligence-gathering effort. We discovered that this compound is being used as an illegal refining site. You can also recall that the Nigerian Navy, about two to three weeks ago, extended Operation Delta Sanity, which is aimed at halting crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.
“My men at the Nigerian Navy Ship NNS Pathfinder discovered this place through intelligence. These illegally refined AGOs, some bagged in sacks, some in drums and tanks, over 200,000 litres, are illegal products refined from crude oil siphoned from the pipelines.”
Commodore Igbo condemned the illegal refining activities as “too bad” and “not good enough” for Nigeria’s economy, labelling them “pure economic sabotage.”
He noted that the Navy is committed to eradicating crude oil theft on land and water and bringing perpetrators to justice.
“Under the leadership of Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, the Navy is determined to fulfil its mandate and increase Nigeria’s oil output to meet the OPEC quota of at least 2.5 barrels per day,” he added.
