Navy Impounds 750,000 Litres Of Diesel In Rivers

The Nigerian Navy said that its operatives have busted an illicit oil refinery in Abonema Wharf in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to reports, the illegal site was holding about 750, 000 liters of illicitly refined diesel, also known as automated gas oil.

Naija News reports that officers and crew members of the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, under the command of Commander Commodore Desmond Igbo, made the discovery on Tuesday during a raid of the area in the center of Port Harcourt.

The Navy said the site was destroyed, while the diesel was seized in the cause of the operation.

Igbo detailed that the operation was the operation was carried out in continuation of the mandate of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla to end illegal oil bunkering activities and crude oil theft in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.

The commander declared that he and his team are totally committed to putting an end to the threat in their area of operation, calling unlawful oil bunkering and crude oil theft acts of economic sabotage.

Igbo said, “This is another illegal oil bunkering site in Port Harcourt. As you can see, we have lots of drums fully loaded with illegally refined products.

“We also have some loaded in the bags. Here, we have not less than Seven hundred and fifty thousand litres of AGO stolen by criminals stocked here.

“Last time, we were at the creeks, but these oil thieves have devised a new means to even come to the town. This is Abonema Wharf, a community right inside the city of Port Harcourt, the state capital.

“Apart from being saboteurs of the nation’s economy by stealing this oil, it is also an act of environmental degradation.

“They also constitute a danger to the citizens and properties of people around here because, if there is any form of fire outbreak, it will burn down the entire community. We will not allow this to continue.

“The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogala has given us this mandate to go to the creeks, the water and the land to make sure that crude oil theft in Niger Delta is put to an end.

“We will not relent and we won’t be deterred even with all forms of sabotage and blackmails, we will continue to do the right thing both day and night to ensure this act of economic sabotage stops.”

Igbo stated that the materials seized would be given to the relevant authorities for additional investigation and further action.