The Nigerian Navy says it has arrested six suspected oil thieves and destroyed some illegal refineries in Bayelsa State.
Director of Naval Information (DINFO), Commodore Aiwuyor Aliu - Adams, announced this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the oil thieves were arrested during operations conducted by troops of Operation Delta Sanity from August 29 and September 2, 2024.
Aliu-Adams, while disclosing the details of the operations that culminated in the troops’ successes, said the troops also recovered large quality of petroleum product during the operations.
He said: "On August 29, troops seized seven large Cotonou and two fibre boats operated by heavily armed oil thieves loading crude oil from an illegal loading point around the Botokiri axis of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
"On August 31, troops arrested six suspected crude oil thieves and seized 109 sacks of illegally refined petroleum products, four fibre boats, and two wooden boats, along Ogboinbiri-Kasama-Azama-Isoni of the state.
“On September 1, two wooden boats and 328 sacks of illegally refined Automated Gas Oil were seized at Otuogori community river bank in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while on September 2, 35 sacks of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil in a wooden boat were seized at Gbaraun area of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the State.”
According to the Navy's spokesman, the successes of the operations were an indication of the effectiveness of Operation Delta Sanity.
It said it is also indicated the resolve of the Nigerian Navy to sustain current efforts to rid Nigeria’s maritime environment of the menace of crude oil theft and enhance crude oil production.”
Recently, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPCL ) , Mele Kyari had said the efforts by the military and other security agencies in tackling crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the country are yielding positive results.
The NNPCL boss, who disclosed this when he received the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, said the renewed fight against the menace has led to improved growth in the nation’s crude oil production and encouraged the military to sustain the war against oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
