Troops arrest 19 suspects, confiscate 260,000 litres of stolen products

The Nigerian Army has reported significant progress in combating oil theft in the Niger Delta, with troops dismantling more than 43 illegal oil bunkering sites, apprehending 19 suspects, and seizing over 260,000 litres of stolen petroleum products.

In a statement released on Sunday, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations for the 6 Division, detailed that the troops had also destroyed 11 vehicles, 21 boats, and 11 motorcycles involved in crude oil theft operations.

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The report highlighted that in Rivers State, the troops dismantled seven illegal refining sites in the Abesa and Kula areas of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area and confiscated over 60,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).

Additionally, the troops demolished numerous illegal bunkering sites, three fibre boats, five wooden boats, and seized over 41,000 litres of stolen oil products.

In Buguma Creeks, operations led to the dismantling of four active illegal refining sites, the destruction of eight large cooking vessels, reservoirs, and three local boats containing over 12,500 litres of stolen products.

The statement further noted that troops intercepted multiple wooden boats holding over 10,000 litres of stolen oil around Odagwa, Akwa, Oza West, Oyigbo, Obozur, and Ayama areas.