A joint operation by the Nigerian Navy and the Federal Government’s inter-agency task force on petroleum theft has uncovered an illegal refinery with a capacity of 40,000 litres in Bonny Island, Rivers state.
Speaking to journalists in Bonny on Friday, Stanley Umeh, commanding officer of the navy forward operating base (FOB), Bonny, described the discovery as the biggest his team had made since he assumed command in March.
Umeh said naval gunboats departed Bonny with operatives who ventured into the creeks and trekked through dense vegetation before reaching the clandestine facility.
“This discovery here is a product of long-time synergy between the base and other security agencies within the island and outside. It has been a product of actionable intelligence over time”, he said.
“Most times we go, we see illegal refineries with pits and crude deposited inside. Some have already cooked, and some are yet to be cooked. But this discovery is like nipping the act in the bud.
“This is their preparatory stage. You could see from the build-up and the set-up of the illegal refinery, it’s meant to be a very big one that would see the siphoning or stealing of crude and brought here for cooking in large quantity”.
Umeh described the discovery as a significant development in efforts to curb crude oil theft and boost Nigeria’s crude oil production.
He assured residents that the force would step up surveillance and patrols across Bonny’s waterways and remote areas.
The head of investigation of the special prosecution team of the inter-agency task force on petroleum theft, Omar Sini said the discovery resulted from collaboration among intelligence, security, and law enforcement agencies.
Sini said the task force, inaugurated by the federal government on 1 March 2025, was established to investigate and prosecute illicit activities in Nigeria’s hydrocarbon sector.
The head of investigation added that since inception to now, “we’ve been able to secure at least 137 convictions, and that is largely responsible for the drop in the illicit activities in the hydrocarbon sector”.
