Troops from the Nigerian Navy’s Forward Operating Base in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State have disrupted illegal oil bunkering activities, deactivating eight illegal refining sites in the Awoye and Oge-bioku axis within the Ilaje council area.
Commanding Officer of the FOB in Igbokoda, Navy Captain Wasuku Alushi, stated that this operation was part of Operation Delta Sanity 2, aimed at curbing criminal activities in the Niger Delta, particularly crude oil theft and illegal bunkering.
Alush noted, “You will recall that on the 10th of January this year, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Okala, flagged off Operation Delta Sanity with the overall objective of sanitizing the Niger Delta environment from the menace of crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, and other illegal related vices.
“Arising from the successes of Delta Sanity 1, Delta Sanity 2 was flagged-off on the 10th of April, 2024 and with similar mandate.
“What we did is still in furtherance of the mandate of operation Delta Sanity 2 which is to curb criminal activities which included crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering and other vices in the Niger Delta environment.
“We were able to storm into their camps which is the illegal refining site. Six were discovered around Awoye and another two around Oge-Bioku axis. In total, eight of those camps were deactivated today.”
Alushi noted that the tactics of the criminal elements have evolved since previous operations.
“As you can see, they are moving deeper into the creeks, making it difficult for us to access those areas because they know that the boats have some constraints.
“Regardless of that, we also devised our own strategy, and that is why we are able to achieve this element of surprise.
“We have our own strategy which is either we get the criminal elements where they are siphoning the crude oil or we get them at the illegal refining site or when they are trying to transship the finished product.
“As a Base, we remain relentless in our pursuit of the mandate of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ogala until we free our Area of Operations from these criminal elements who are saboteurs to our common wealth.
“We will continue to work together with well-meaning partners, traditional rulers and all the good people of Ondo State who have been providing us with credible intelligence, he explained.
Speaking further, Alushi assured that the Navy would intensify efforts to curb the menace of crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering within their operational area.
He warned the criminal elements to desist and reconsider their actions.
“We are going to deploy every available means within our limited resources to ensure that we get at them and ensure that they pay dearly for their crimes,” he stated.
