To prevent oil sabotage and protect the nation’s economic assets, the Nigerian Navy (NN) announced the storming of an illegal crude oil site located in Allison Community, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
On sighting the Nigerian Navy officers deployed, the suspected operators took to their heels.
This development was contained in a document shared on Friday in Abuja.
The security exercise was said to be carried out by Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny under the Eastern Naval Command, following an ongoing intelligence tip-off in the community, says the Acting Director of Naval Information, Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho.
Capt. Folorunsho said in the notice that a team of anti-crude oil theft patrol was deployed to the location to safeguard the Niger Delta region.
On visiting the site, the security team saw makeshift infrastructure, including dugout pits and locally assembled processing systems used for cooking and cooling crude oil.
However, the illegal installation was dismantled in accordance with the operation guidelines.
According to the notice, over 20,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil stored at the location were found on site.
Folorunsho also stated that the operation reflects the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, to scale up intelligence-driven missions aimed at safeguarding oil infrastructure.
Meanwhile, he added that such actions are expected to contribute to the Federal Government’s (FG) drive to increase crude oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day.
The Navy reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining pressure on illegal refining networks and other forms of economic sabotage across the region.
