Troops from the Nigerian Military’s sixth Division have arrested 19 suspected oil thieves and dismantled 43 unlawful crude oil refining websites throughout the Niger Delta area.
The Military disclosed that its operatives additionally confiscated roughly 260,000 litres of stolen crude oil merchandise throughout operations in 4 states.
Performing Deputy Director of Military Public Relations for the sixth Division, Jonah Danjuma, revealed this in an announcement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
Danjuma mentioned the operations, carried out between November 4 and 10, befell in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, and Delta states as a part of an intensified clampdown on oil bunkering and unlawful refining actions within the area.
“Within the operations, troops dismantled over 43 unlawful oil bunkering hubs, arrested 19 financial saboteurs, and seized over 260,000 litres of stolen merchandise. Moreover, 11 autos, 21 boats, and 11 bikes used for crude theft have been immobilised,” the assertion learn.
The Military acknowledged that in Rivers State alone, troops dismantled seven energetic unlawful refining hubs within the Abesa and Kula areas of Akuku-Toru Native Authorities Space, seizing over 60,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gasoline Oil.
In separate raids round Cawthorne Channel 1 and the Bille space, a number of unlawful bunkering websites, three fibre boats, 5 wood boats, and 41,000 litres of stolen merchandise have been destroyed.
In Buguma Creeks, 4 unlawful refining hubs, eight cooking pots, and three boats stocked with over 12,500 litres of stolen merchandise have been dismantled.
Troops additionally intercepted wood boats containing over 10,000 litres of stolen merchandise in Odagwa, Akwa, Oza West, Oyigbo, Obozur, and Ayama areas.
Moreover, in Ogbonga Forest, six unlawful refining hubs stocked with over 10,000 litres of crude have been shut down, together with storage tanks and pumping gear.
In Akwa Ibom, troops intercepted two tankers carrying 96,000 litres of stolen crude alongside the Okopedi Atai street in Ikot Abasi. Additionally they seized three Toyota Camry autos transporting stolen AGO, whose drivers deserted the autos and fled.
In Delta State, a tanker truck loaded with 45,000 litres of stolen merchandise was intercepted, with the occupants fleeing on the sight of a army checkpoint. Troops additionally discovered two extra tanker vehicles, three pumping machines, and hoses used for offloading merchandise from a barge at Willis Jetty within the Enerhen space.
In the meantime, in Bayelsa State, troops intercepted a car carrying 1,500 litres of stolen AGO and arrested three suspects alongside the Elebele-Emeyal street in Ogbia Native Authorities Space.
Round Sangana River in Southern Ijaw, a storage dump of stolen merchandise was destroyed, and three suspects have been apprehended with a pumping machine and unmeasured portions of crude oil at Ashawo Fish Camp.
Commending the troops for the profitable operations, Common Officer Commanding the sixth Division, Main Common Jamal Abdussalam, urged them to maintain their efforts to rid the area of financial saboteurs and facilitate elevated oil manufacturing in Nigeria.