Troops of the Nigerian Army have successfully dismantled 23 illegal artisanal refineries and arrested 25 suspected operators during an anti-bunkering operation across Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states.
The operation, which took place between January 12 and January 19, also resulted in the seizure of 14 boats and the confiscation of 45,000 litres of various adulterated petroleum products.
Lt.-Col. Danjuma Danjuma, spokesman for the Nigerian Army 6 Division in Port Harcourt, confirmed the operation’s success in a statement issued on Monday. He revealed that the operation began in Rivers State, where troops intercepted a truck carrying over 15,000 litres of fake petroleum products along the Eneka-Tank stretch of the East-West Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
On the same day, soldiers targeted illegal refining sites in the Karakarma area of Degema Local Government Area, destroying seven refineries, seizing four fibre boats, and recovering 12,000 litres of stolen petroleum products. In Bille, also in Degema LGA, troops destroyed two illegal refineries, three receivers, and three large metallic cooking pots containing over 2,400 litres of stolen products.
The operation continued in Imo Riverside, where soldiers dismantled 13 illegal refining sites, destroyed 25 cooking drum pots, 24 receivers, and six metallic containers, recovering 7,000 litres of stolen petroleum products. Additional seizures included motorcycles, empty gallons, hollow pipes, and a boat used for illegal bunkering activities.
In Oga-Ama, Buguma LGA, troops impounded four boats and seized over 2,700 litres of stolen petroleum products. Further successes came in Finima, Bonny LGA, where a tugboat and a barge were seized, while a sting operation in Oshimili, Delta State, led to the arrest of four suspects believed to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) involved in the illegal bunkering of petroleum products.
Acting on intelligence, soldiers also dismantled five dugout pits containing stolen petroleum products along the Yokri River in Burutu LGA and confiscated two Toyota Avalon vehicles carrying illegally refined diesel along the Okarki-Otuasega Road in Ogbia LGA, Bayelsa State.
Lt.-Col. Danjuma emphasized that all seized vehicles and petroleum products have been processed in accordance with the Army’s operational mandate. The ongoing operations aim to disrupt illegal oil theft and refine illicit activities across the region.
