The Nigerian Navy, in collaboration with the Federal Government’s inter-agency task force on petroleum theft, has uncovered a 40,000-litre-capacity illegal refinery on Bonny Island, Rivers State, in a major operation against crude oil theft.
The facility, described by the Commanding Officer of the Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB), Bonny, Stanley Umeh, as the biggest discovery by his team since he assumed command in March, was located after security operatives navigated the creeks and trekked through thick vegetation.
Umeh disclosed the discovery while speaking with journalists in Bonny on Friday, saying the operation was carried out by naval personnel and other security operatives acting on actionable intelligence developed through collaboration among security agencies.
According to him, the facility was discovered at the preparatory stage, before large-scale crude oil theft and illegal refining could commence.
He said illegal refineries previously encountered by his team often contained crude oil in pits, with some already processed and others awaiting refining.
However, the Bonny facility was different because it had not yet commenced full operations.
Umeh said the size and structure of the facility indicated that it was being prepared for the large-scale siphoning of crude oil for illegal refining.
“This discovery is like nipping the act in the bud. This is their preparatory stage. You could see from the build-up and the set-up of the illegal refinery, it’s meant to be a very big one that would see the siphoning or stealing of crude and brought here for cooking in large quantity,” he said.
The Navy commander described the discovery as a major development in the ongoing efforts to tackle crude oil theft and support the growth of Nigeria’s crude oil production.
He assured residents that the Navy would intensify surveillance and patrol operations across Bonny’s waterways and other remote locations to prevent criminal activities in the area.
Also speaking, Omar Sini, Head of Investigation, Special Prosecution Team of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft, attributed the discovery to sustained cooperation among intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies.
Sini said the task force was inaugurated by the Federal Government on March 1, 2025, to investigate and prosecute illicit activities within Nigeria’s hydrocarbon sector.
He disclosed that the task force had secured at least 137 convictions since its establishment, which he said had contributed significantly to the decline in illicit activities in the hydrocarbon sector.
“We’ve been able to secure at least 137 convictions, and that is largely responsible for the drop in the illicit activities in the hydrocarbon sector,” Sini said.
The latest discovery underscores the continued efforts by security agencies to disrupt crude oil theft and illegal refining activities before they expand into large-scale operations.