Troops from the Nigerian Army’s 6th Division have arrested 19 suspected oil thieves and dismantled 43 illegal crude oil refining sites across the Niger Delta region.
The Army disclosed that its operatives also confiscated approximately 260,000 litres of stolen crude oil products during operations in four states.
Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations for the 6th Division, Jonah Danjuma, revealed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
Danjuma said the operations, conducted between November 4 and 10, took place in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, and Delta states as part of an intensified clampdown on oil bunkering and illegal refining activities in the region.
“In the operations, troops dismantled over 43 illegal oil bunkering hubs, arrested 19 economic saboteurs, and seized over 260,000 litres of stolen products. Additionally, 11 vehicles, 21 boats, and 11 motorcycles used for crude theft were immobilised,” the statement read.
The Army stated that in Rivers State alone, troops dismantled seven active illegal refining hubs in the Abesa and Kula areas of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, seizing over 60,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil.
In separate raids around Cawthorne Channel 1 and the Bille area, several illegal bunkering sites, three fibre boats, five wooden boats, and 41,000 liters of stolen products were destroyed.
Troops also intercepted wooden boats containing over 10,000 litres of stolen products in Odagwa, Akwa, Oza West, Oyigbo, Obozur, and Ayama areas.
