Troops of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, have intensified their operations against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, achieving significant results, including the arrest of several wooden boats and destruction of over 40 illegal refining sites across the region.
The Acting Deputy Director of 6 Division Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, reported that these operations, conducted in collaboration with other security agencies, led to the seizure of more than 180,000 litres of illegally refined products within the Division’s Area of Responsibility.
The clearance operations are part of a broader strategy by the Division to dismantle the networks of economic saboteurs in the region.
Notably, in Bille and Mbiama, Okrika Local Government Area (LGA), troops, in conjunction with other security forces, successfully demolished six illegal refining sites.
The sites were equipped with eleven ovens, storage tanks, and cooling systems, all of which were dismantled.
Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma added that the troops also seized two tarpaulins containing approximately 45,000 litres of illegal crude oil, along with jerricans, drums holding over 1,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, three pumping machines, and 500 meters of long hoses.
Additionally, five more illegal refining sites were destroyed in the Alakiri area of Okrika LGA, resulting in the confiscation of over 15,000 litres of illicit products.
In related operations, troops from the 16 Brigade, operating around Bille and Elem Karakarma in Degema LGA, arrested two wooden boats loaded with over 24,000 litres of illegally refined products, along with two fibre boats containing over 1,200 litres of stolen crude.
Further seizures were made in Nembe LGA, Bayelsa State, where more than 34,000 litres of illegally refined products were confiscated.
In Delta State, the 63 Brigade intercepted a truck carrying 33,000 litres of illegally refined products along the Asaba-Onitsha Road.
Near Ikpemu Creek in Warri South, troops seized over 10,000 litres of stolen crude and dismantled an active illegal refining site along with five large dugouts.
The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, commended the troops for their operational achievements and urged them to sustain the momentum against economic saboteurs as the operations continue.