By Miriam Humbe
The Nigerian Navy has disrupted attempts by economic saboteurs to establish new illegal refining infrastructure within the Bonny axis of Rivers State following a targeted operation by personnel of Forward Operating Base (FOB) BONNY under Operation DELTA SENTINEL.
Director of Naval Information, Nigerian Navy, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho disclosed this in a statement signed on Tuesday.
The operation was initiated after intelligence reports indicated suspicious activities around the Promise Land area within Bonny Local Government Area.
In response, an Anti-Crude Oil Theft patrol team conducted a coordinated reconnaissance mission across adjoining creeks and waterways to verify the threat.
Aerial surveillance deployed during the operation exposed concealed refining
equipment hidden beneath thick vegetation within the area.
Subsequent ground assessment confirmed the existence of two newly constructed illegal refining sites strategically positioned close to the river channel.
The sites contained improvised cooking installations, interconnected pipe networks, and support infrastructure believed to have been prepared for the processing and movement of illegally refined petroleum products through nearby waterways.
Further assessment revealed that the operators were still in the early stages of establishing the camps, indicating an attempt to create a new refining cluster within the area before full-scale operations could commence.
The refining sites were subsequently dismantled in line with operational procedures, while the location has been placed under continued monitoring for follow-up assessment and surveillance.
The operation reflects the Nigerian Navy’s increasing emphasis on proactive disruption of illegal refining infrastructure before criminal networks fully establish operational
capacity.
Current operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL remain focused on
identifying emerging hotspots, denying criminal expansion, and restricting the ability of oil theft syndicates to regenerate within the Niger Delta.
The Nigerian Navy remains committed to sustaining intelligence-driven operations aimed at protecting critical national assets and safeguarding the nation’s maritime and littoral environment from economic sabotage.
