By Nkechi Eze
The Nigerian Navy has intensified its campaign against crude oil theft and other economic crimes in the Niger Delta, recording fresh operational successes under Operation Delta Sentinel with the destruction of an illegal refinery site and the arrest of dozens of suspected illegal miners.
The development was disclosed in a statement by the Director of Naval Information, Abiodun Folorunsho, who said the operations were carried out by personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder and Nigerian Navy Ship Soroh during separate security patrols in Rivers and Bayelsa states.
According to the statement, a patrol team from NNS Pathfinder conducting an Anti-Crude Oil Theft patrol around the Ojekiri area of Rivers State discovered an illegal refinery site along the Alakiri River. The site contained about 10 dugout pits cumulatively laden with approximately 45,000 litres of stolen crude oil.
Naval personnel subsequently destroyed the illegal facility and the recovered crude oil in line with operational procedures. The suspected operators of the illegal refinery reportedly fled the scene upon sighting the naval patrol team.
In a related development, personnel of NNS Soroh acting on credible intelligence arrested 37 suspected illegal miners at Anyama Jetty in Yenagoa. The suspects were apprehended while attempting to transfer an unspecified quantity of black sand from a wooden boat into two waiting trucks at the jetty.
The operation was carried out in line with a directive by the Bayelsa State Government prohibiting illegal black sand mining in the state.
Following their arrest, the suspects, along with the trucks, wooden boat and recovered mineral resources, were handed over to Operation Doo-Akpo for further investigation and necessary action.
The Nigerian Navy noted that the operations align with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Idi Abbas, for naval formations and units to intensify the fight against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage across the nation’s maritime domain.
The Navy reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the operational momentum of Operation Delta Sentinel by leveraging intelligence and technology to safeguard Nigeria’s critical national assets and protect the country’s economic interests in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
