The Nigerian Army’s 6th Division Garrison in Port Harcourt has successfully dismantled an illegal crude oil refining site in the forest of Odagwe community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, News About Nigeria reports.
This operation occurred just days after the Nigerian Navy announced the busting of an illegal oil refining site in Abonema Wharf, Port Harcourt, where 750,000 litres of illegally refined automated gas oil (diesel) were seized.
The army, led by the Commander, 6 Division Garrison, and Sector 3, Operation Delta Safe, Brigadier General Eddie Effiong, uncovered one million litres of crude oil during the raid.
The operation also uncovered eight crude oil reservoirs and five boilers hidden in the community forest, all containing over one million litres of stolen crude.
Speaking to journalists after the successful operation on Friday, Brigadier General Effiong disclosed that a tip-off had led the army to the illegal refining site.
He explained that each reservoir contained approximately 100,000 litres of crude oil, and the perpetrators were in the process of refining it into Automated Gas Oil (diesel) before the army intervened.
“In continuation of the fight against crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering, we got a tip-off from our contacts that illegal oil refinery has commenced on the opposite side of this road after we destroyed them on the other side,” Brigadier General Effiong stated.
“The oil thieves have relocated here and then reestablished their illegal refineries and continued their illegal activities.”
The garrison commander assured that the division would employ both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches, including dialogue and community engagement, to address the root causes of illicit activities.
“We are also trying our best to discourage them through their village heads and youth leaders, talking to them. We all know what crude oil is to the Nigerian economy.
“Everyone in the country is feeling the impact of the economy presently, and the more they do this, it is also going to negatively impact all of us.”
