Troops arrest suspected oil thieves, seize barges and boats in ongoing operations in Niger Delta

Troops from the Nigerian Army’s 6th Division have stepped up their crackdown on illegal oil slurry in the Niger Delta, seizing over 280,000 litres of stolen crude oil, dismantling 63 illegal oil slurry sites and arresting seven suspected oil thieves in recent operations.

In a statement, Acting Deputy Director, Public Affairs, 6th Army Division, Lt. Col. Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, said that based on credible intelligence, troops intercepted a large wooden vessel that was siphoning off about 198,000 litres of crude oil from a barge at an NNPC flow station in Cawthorne Channel I, leading to the arrest of five suspects and seizure of a barge, a tugboat and three speedboats.

In Rivers State and Abia State, troops discovered numerous illegal crossing points along the Imo River, including sites in Isimiri, Obiakpu, Owaza and Uzuaku villages.

They also discovered illegal refining sites, reservoirs and wooden boats containing over 13,000 litres of stolen crude oil, which were destroyed during ongoing clearance operations.

In Alakiri, in the Okrika local authority area, troops dismantled four illegal refining sites and destroyed equipment, including furnaces, storage tanks and hoses containing 29,000 liters of stolen crude oil.

Further operations along the Omoku-Elele road and in the Asari Toru local jurisdiction area resulted in the seizure of bags of suspected condensates and the destruction of refining sites, cooking ovens and tanks containing over 4,000 litres of stolen products.

In Bayelsa State, operations targeted illegal refining operations in Southern Ijaw and Kolokuma/Okpokuma LGAs, resulting in the destruction of several sites and the confiscation of thousands of litres of stolen crude oil. In particular, over 1,400 litres of illegally refined products were discovered in a residential building, resulting in the arrest of a suspect.

Troops also foiled an attempted vandalism of a gas pipeline in Okpai community in Delta State and dismantled illegal refining operations in Warri South LGA, confiscating over 10,000 litres of stolen crude oil.

Major General Jamal Abdussalam, overall commander of the 6th Division, commended the troops for their efforts and stressed the importance of continuing to put pressure on oil thieves to secure the region and protect critical oil infrastructure.

He reiterated the military’s commitment to creating a safe environment for legitimate exploration activities by oil companies in the Niger Delta.

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