Navy Uncovers 40,000-Litre Illegal Refinery In Rivers Creeks

The operation followed actionable intelligence coordinated through the Joint Intelligence Monitoring Team, involving personnel from various security and intelligence agencies.

Speaking to journalists in Bonny yesterday, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base, Bonny, Captain Stanley Umeh, described the discovery as the biggest made by his team since he assumed command in March 2026.

Umeh said Navy gunboats transported operatives into the creeks, after which the team 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.

He explained that unlike many illegal refineries previously discovered, where crude oil had already been stored or processed, the latest facility was still at the preparatory stage.

“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 said.

The Navy commander described the discovery as a boost to efforts to curb crude oil theft and increase Nigeria’s crude oil production.

“This discovery is a plus to the fight against crude oil theft in Nigeria, towards increasing the production or crude sales production in the country,” he said.

Umeh assured residents that the Navy would intensify surveillance and patrols across waterways and remote areas of Bonny.

“It’s been a zero tolerance for us, both in and out of the waters. It’s been zero tolerance for this kind of illegalities within Bonny Local Government Area generally,” he said.

He acknowledged the difficulty of detecting illegal facilities hidden in thick vegetation but said the Navy would expand its land and water surveillance operations.

“We will continue to raid and make sure they have no hiding places. It is a zero tolerance,” Umeh said, adding that the operation was in line with the Chief of Naval Staff’s strategic directive on crude oil theft.

Also speaking, the Head of Investigation of the Special Prosecution Team of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft, Omar John 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 March 1, 2025, was established to investigate and prosecute illicit activities in Nigeria’s hydrocarbon sector.

“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,” Sini said.

He attributed the operation to intelligence supplied by the Joint Intelligence Monitoring Team, led by Major General A.A. Idris under the supervision of the Chief of Defence Staff.

Sini said the intelligence team comprises personnel from several agencies, while the Special Prosecution Team focuses mainly on investigation and prosecution.

He said the collaboration enabled the agencies to identify and track the location using relevant technology.

According to him, the objective was not merely to respond to oil theft after it occurred but to disrupt criminal operations before they became fully operational.

“The primary purpose of law enforcement is to detect crime. We don’t even want it to occur so that we don’t be reactive, we want to be preventive,” he said.

Sini disclosed that three suspects allegedly linked to the financing of the operation were already in custody.

He said the suspects had invested millions of naira in constructing the facility and that the government would treat the site in accordance with extant laws before prosecuting those responsible.

“We have already approached the court of law to apply for relevant order,” Sini stated.

He, however, called for stronger sentencing provisions for petroleum theft offences, arguing that existing penalties do not always provide sufficient deterrence.