In a significant crackdown, the troops of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army have intercepted a large-scale illegal oil bunkering operation, seizing over 198,000 litres of stolen crude oil in Rivers State. The oil, stored in a barge from the NNPCL flow station, was recovered during a swift military operation.
This development was revealed in a press statement by Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations for the 6 Division, who noted that the operation was launched based on credible intelligence. Soldiers acted swiftly, intercepting three speedboats near Cawthorne Channel I, catching suspects siphoning crude oil from a barge at the NNPC flow station.
The operation led to the arrest of five individuals involved in the illicit act and the seizure of a barge, a tugboat, and three speedboats. In addition to this bust, over 280,000 litres of crude oil have been recovered in the past week from various locations, signaling a major victory in the ongoing war against oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Lt. Col. Danjuma disclosed that 63 illegal oil bunkering sites and 11 illegal connections were uncovered during this period. In Rivers and Abia States, troops discovered four illegal connections in Isimiri and Obiakpu villages in Ukwa West LGA, with similar findings in Owaza and Uzuaku villages in Ukwa South LGA.
In another operation, a boat containing 3,000 litres of illegally refined oil was confiscated, and an illegal refining site was destroyed. Clearance operations along the Imo River, targeting illegal refining locations in Okoloma, Obuzor, and surrounding communities, resulted in the destruction of 42 illegal refining sites. Troops also recovered 13,000 litres of stolen crude oil, wooden boats, and other refining equipment.
Further success was recorded at Alakiri in Okrika LGA, where troops dismantled four illegal refining sites and destroyed equipment, including ovens and storage tanks, used to siphon over 29,000 litres of crude oil. Similar operations in Omoku, Buguma, and Bukuma led to the destruction of additional illegal sites, cooking ovens, and reservoirs, with the recovery of thousands of litres of refined products.
The military’s Kinetic Operation remains a key force in disrupting criminal networks profiting from oil theft in the Niger Delta.
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