Nigerian military personnel have arrested 36 suspects and destroyed 21 illegal refineries during a raid in Niger Delta.
The Acting Deputy Director, Lt Col Jonah Danjuma revealed this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday. He noted that the 6 Division army also recovered 591,000 litres of stolen product in the Niger Delta region.
Danjuma added that the army conducted an operation in collaboration with other security agencies in Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Delta states in order to crack down on oil crimes. He further affirmed that the operations carried out between 28 April and 11 May 2025 has yielded commendable results.
The spokesperson cited the raid conducted at the Orashi Game Reserve/Okolomade area in Abua/Odual Local Government Area. He disclosed that army personnel discovered and tracked a hose, spanning over 15 kilometres, connected to an illegal loading point.
In a follow-up operation, the army discovered five illegal refining sites with a large metal tank loaded with over 350,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gasoline Oil.
Similarly, army personnel recovered 38 sacks filled with over 1,175 litres of stolen crude hidden in the bush at Egbokodo general area in Warri South LG.
In addition, military personnel destroyed seven illegal refining sites at the fringes of the Imo River, seized 1,428 bags of stolen products estimated to be over 21,500 litres of crude. Also, they demobilized five boats involved in the illegal operation, and destroyed 38 drum pots along with fifteen drum receivers.
According to the statement, the force handed over all arrested suspects to the relevant authority for prosecution. Additionally, items recovered during the raid were handled according to the operational mandate.
