Nigerian Navy Destroys Illegal Refinery, Arrests 37 Suspected Miners in Niger Delta

The Nigerian Navy has recorded fresh operational gains in its ongoing campaign against crude oil theft and other illegal economic activities in the Niger Delta under Operation Delta Sentinel.
In separate operations carried out in Rivers and Bayelsa States, personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder and Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Soroh dismantled an illegal oil refining site and arrested dozens of suspected illegal miners.
During an Anti-Crude Oil Theft patrol around the Ojekiri general area in Rivers State, the NNS Pathfinder patrol team uncovered an illegal refinery site located along the Alakiri River. The site contained about 10 dugout pits filled with approximately 45,000 litres of stolen crude oil.
According to naval authorities, the illegal facility and the crude oil were destroyed in line with established operational procedures. The suspected operators of the site reportedly fled the area upon sighting naval personnel.
In a separate operation in Bayelsa State, a patrol team from NNS Soroh, acting on credible intelligence and in compliance with the Bayelsa State Government’s directive banning black sand mining, arrested 37 suspected illegal miners at Anyama Jetty in Yenagoa.
The suspects were reportedly caught while attempting to transfer an unspecified quantity of black sand from a wooden boat into two waiting trucks at the jetty.
The arrested individuals, along with the trucks, the wooden boat, and the recovered mineral resources, were subsequently handed over to Operation DOO-AKPO, the Bayelsa State security outfit, for further investigation.
The operations followed the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, who recently tasked naval formations and units to intensify efforts against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, and other forms of economic sabotage across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The Nigerian Navy reiterated its commitment to sustaining the momentum of Operation Delta Sentinel, noting that intelligence-driven operations and the deployment of modern technology will continue to be used to protect Nigeria’s critical national assets and economic interests in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.