Military Arrests Suspects, Seizes Petroleum Products in Niger Delta Crackdown

At least 17 alleged vandals have been taken into custody by Nigerian Army troops, who have also confiscated over 45,000 liters of stolen petroleum products.

Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, Acting Deputy Director, 6 Division, Army Public Relations, revealed this in a statement on Sunday.

A Toyota 4Runner SUV carrying more than 1,600 liters of suspected stolen diesel was stopped by troops on patrol in the Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, the statement said.

The driver reportedly ran after abandoning the car.

Twenty-three sacks of refined products were found in Ahoada West as well, and a wooden boat carrying petroleum products was found in Degema.

In the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, soldiers discovered a pipeline that had been vandalized and recovered condensate that had been taken in Obiafor.

“A 250-meter hose, three-inch metal pipes, and six sacks containing 300 liters of illegally refined AGO were among the items recovered,” the statement said in part.

Soldiers in Delta State stormed an illegal storage hub at Ogwu Community in the Warri South Local Government Area. They found a large storage facility with over 20,000 liters of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and pumping and metering machines, as well as a tanker truck loaded with suspected stolen diesel.

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Additional items were two empty tanks and a 20,000-liter tanker truck registered BEN 223 ZW (Edo State) that was filled with more than 10,000 liters of illegally processed AGO, according to the statement.

In Bayelsa State, dugout pits and refinery sites were destroyed as a result of raids in Biseni, Yenagoa Local Government Area.

A Toyota Camry carrying AGO drums was intercepted in a different operation in Okordia.

According to the statement, “a Toyota Camry with registration number ASB 71 BG, loaded with over 600 liters of AGO, was intercepted at Okordia in Yenagoa LGA.”

Security patrols along oil theft routes in Akwa Ibom State increased, Lieutenant Danjuma reported, limiting saboteurs’ movement and cutting off their supply sources.

The Army insisted that the goals of its current operations were to protect national resources, stem the actions of economic saboteurs, and restore environmental integrity throughout the Niger Delta.