According to the Nigeria Navy, OPERATION DELTA SANITY II soldiers achieved significant progress in combating crude oil theft in March.
“On Friday, 7 March 2025, an Illegal Refinery Site containing approximately 5,500 liters of stolen crude oil, 2,000 liters of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), 1 oven, 9 dugout pits, 15 polythene sacks of illegally refined AGO, 13 sacks of stolen crude oil, and 1 pumping machine were discovered and deactivated around Oteghele community at Obodo Omadino in Warri, SouthWest Local Government Area, Delta State,” said Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, Director of Information, in a statement posted on the Nigeria Navy’s verified Facebook page on Saturday.
The statement claims that “a large wooden boat carrying 40,000 liters of crude oil was seized around Okrika and Ogajama general area in Rivers State on Saturday, 8 March 2025.” On Sunday, March 9, 2025, MFT Olokun VIII, a seagoing vessel registered under IMO Registration N0: 8778275, was apprehended in the vicinity of Bayelsa State’s Saint Nicholas River while carrying illicit firearms and ammunition. One G3 rifle, one pump action gun, twenty rounds of 7.62/51mm ammo, and seven live cartridges were among the guns. Additionally, two suspects connected to the illicit firearms were taken into custody and will be prosecuted.
Three illegal refinery sites, three ovens, seven dugout pits, eight bags containing 3,700 liters of crude oil, and twenty-three polythene sacks containing 1,900 liters of illegally processed AGO were found and deactivated on Monday, March 10, 2025, in the vicinity of Obodo Omadino in Warri, South West Local Government Area, Delta State.
“On Thursday, March 13, 2025, approximately 55,000 liters of stolen crude oil and approximately 4,000 liters of illegally refined AGO were found and seized in the vicinity of Ohaji/Egbema West in Rivers State, along with a vandalized wellhead, eight illegal refinery sites, 55 ovens, 12 reservoirs, and 30 dugout pits.”
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Furthermore, “Two wooden boats carrying more than 5,000 liters of stolen crude oil and two drums were seized along the Dodo River in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Friday, March 14, 2025.”
“A fiber boat carrying 1,000 liters of stolen crude oil was seized near the Bille/Krakrama waterways in Rivers State on Sunday, March 17, 2025.”
It further stated that on Monday, March 17, 2025, in the vicinity of Obodo Omadino in Warri, SouthWest Local Government Area, Delta State, three illegal refinery sites, two ovens, ten dugout pits, three sacks containing roughly 2,700 liters of stolen crude oil, and eighteen polythene sacks containing roughly 1,900 liters of illegally refined AGO were found and deactivated.
In the Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, it was reported that “two wooden boats actively siphoning crude oil from a wellhead, two drums of stolen crude oil, and one cooking oven were discovered and seized on Thursday, March 20, 2025,” among other things.
According to the report, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, the Chief of Naval Staff, reaffirmed that the Nigerian Navy will keep stepping up its operations to support the country’s economic endeavors, especially the directive to increase crude oil production from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
