Navy Destroy 1,528 Illegal Refining Sites, Arrests 392 Suspected Oil Thieves In 4 Years

The Nigerian Navy has said it personnel has seized 8.1m barrels of stolen crude oil,86,500 MT of illegally refined AGO ,others and arrested 392 suspected oil thieves, 120 Barges and deactivated 1,528 illegal refining sites in the last four years.

The Chief of Navy Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla who revealed the figures on Monday said troops also arrested 181 speedboats,1,453 wooden boats laden with stolen products,118 vehicles and destroyed 8,790 storage tanks.

He said “Despite these sterling performances, there have been misrepresentations in certain quarters aimed at tarnishing the image of the Nigerian Navy.

“These misrepresentations are peddled by mischief makers whose freedom of action in oil theft were severely degraded by the Nigerian Navy. Despite disruptions by these unpatriotic elements, the Nigerian Navy has remained critical in the success of several strategic initiatives such as the Presidential Crude Oil Barging Regime.

For instance, an alarm of crude oil theft on MT PRAISEL in August 2023 at Escravos in which the Navy was alleged to have been involved was proven to be false”.

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The CNS who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans Rear Adm. Olusegun Ferreira said the Navy has a strict disciplinary systems to deal with personnel involved in sabotage in line with Armed Forces Act.

“Mindful of the possibility of certain bad eggs within, the Nigerian Navy has strict disciplinary systems to deal with such personnel in line with the Armed Forces Act,” he said.

The Naval Chief noted that some gallant personnel of the Navy have in the course of these operations paid the supreme prize while fighting oil theft.

The CNS lamented that false allegations have led to arrests and detention of vessels which were later found to be cleared for conveying such contents.

“These false accusations were not backed by evidences, but primarily designed to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Navy and dampen the morale of personnel involved in anti-oil theft operations.

In addition, the perpetrators of these false alarms inflict unwarranted disruptions in legitimate business in the oil industry. This is detrimental to the ease of doing business in Nigeria oil sector and negates Mr Presidents desire to increase investment in the oil industry”.