Army Uncovers Illegal Oil Refining Camp, Seizes 5m Liters Stolen Crude In Rivers State

Five million liters of stolen crude oil, hidden in a reservoir in Rivers State, were confiscated by the Division 6 of the Nigerian Army on Wednesday after they discovered a large illegal camp for oil refining.

Naija News reports that men of the army invaded the camp, which was located along the Mirinwanyi channel of the Imo River in the Komkom section of Oyigbo LGA of Rivers state.

It was discovered that around five million litres of crude oil had already been stolen to be processed in the camp before the troops arrived and halted the illegal activities.

Using speedboats, the division’s leaders and the general officer commanding of the 6th Division, Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdussalam, led the troops deep into the creeks to evaluate the camp.

The camp was equipped with makeshift dwellings, fifteen boilers, nine storage tanks, recently purchased pipes, and additional costly amenities valued at millions of naira.

Maj. Gen. Abdulsalam expressed his sadness at what he saw on the ground and stated that the division would not back down in its effort to eradicate any illicit refineries and links within its purview.

He claimed that he had believed that no other raid by the army would be larger than their most recent one, which resulted in the seizure of almost three million liters of crude oil from an illicit refinery at Odagwa in Etche Local Government.

The GOC 6 Division added that even though the operators left the region, the division is still actively pursuing leads in an effort to identify and detain the individuals committing these kinds of economic sabotage.

Abdusalam said, “This is in continuation of our operations to destroy all illegal refineries, and illegal connections in our area of responsibility. Based on credible intelligence, this morning, our troops raided this location.

“I thought we would not see anything more than the raid we carried out at Odagwa, unfortunately, we are seeing very sad illegal activities taking place in this area.

“We have discovered over 15 boilers and about nine reservoirs. From our estimation, the crude oil that had been stolen and reserved here for processing is over N5 million litres.

“On our way, we saw large Cotonou boats capable of taking 200 litres. We saw more than five on our way filled with crude oil. It is indeed very sad that these activities continued. We will not get tired. We will continue with our job.

“No arrest has been made. I said it before that most of the arrests were labourers working on the site. We have not been able to get real culprits.

“We can see the facilities here. It is not something that ordinary people can set up. It needs money, expertise, and careful planning.

“So it is beyond the people we arrest. We are following several leads and we are hoping that those leads will take us to those, who are actually responsible.

“This activity is illegal, criminal, and dirty. We call on people to embrace legitimate businesses.”