Troops of the Nigerian Army have dismantled several illegal refining sites in Rivers and Bayelsa States within the Niger Delta region.
This operation was highlighted in a video posted on the official handle of the Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited on X, detailing the efforts of the Land Component, Joint Task Force, South-South, Operation Delta Safe.
Lt. Col. Jonah Danjuma, Acting Deputy Director of 6 Division Army Public Relations, confirmed the operation in a separate statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday morning.
The statement noted, “In the operations that ensued, troops identified several illegal refining sites in Rivers and Bayelsa States, where several discoveries were made.
In Rivers State, troops of Sector 3, Land Component, Joint Task Force, South-South Operation Delta Safe, acting on credible intelligence, identified and destroyed three illegal refining sites at Odagwa in Etche Local Government Area. This operation resulted in the confiscation and destruction of over 30,000 litres of stolen and illegally refined products.”
Additionally, at Akaso field down to Cawthorne channel, around well 9, troops uncovered one illegal refining site, three receivers, and extensive connecting pipes used to transport stolen crude to these illegal sites.
The statement added, “Other items were also confiscated and destroyed at the sites in line with the mandate of Operation DELTA SAFE in the Niger Delta Region.”
In Bayelsa State, troops of Sector 2, while conducting routine operations in the creeks, waterways, and rivulets along Dasaba Creek in Nembe LGA, confiscated over 12,000 litres of stolen and illegally refined products. Items recovered at the illegal refining site included one fibre boat, five ovens, several metal drums, and large reservoirs used for storage in this illegal operation.
