The Nigerian Navy says it has destroyed an illegal refinery site and arrested 37 suspected illegal miners during separate operations in the Niger Delta under its anti-crude oil theft campaign, Operation Delta Sentinel.
In a statement, the Navy said the operations were carried out by personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder and Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Soroh in Rivers State and Bayelsa State respectively.
According to the statement, naval operatives from NNS Pathfinder discovered an illegal refinery site during an Anti-Crude Oil Theft patrol around the Ojekiri general area in Rivers State. The site, located along the Alakiri River, contained about 10 dugout pits cumulatively laden with approximately 45,000 litres of stolen crude oil.
The Navy said the illegal facility and the stored crude oil were destroyed in line with operational procedures, while the suspected operators fled the scene upon sighting naval personnel.
In a related development, a patrol team from NNS Soroh arrested 37 suspected illegal miners at Anyama Jetty in Yenagoa after receiving credible intelligence.
The suspects were reportedly caught while attempting to transfer an unspecified quantity of black sand from a wooden boat into two trucks waiting at the jetty. The suspects, along with the trucks, wooden boat, and recovered mineral resources, were handed over to Operation DOO-AKPO, a security outfit set up by the Bayelsa State Government, for further investigation.
The Navy noted that the operations align with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, for naval formations to intensify efforts against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage within Nigeria’s maritime environment.
It added that the service remains committed to sustaining the momentum of Operation Delta Sentinel through the use of intelligence and technology to safeguard the country’s critical national assets and economic interests.
