By Desmond Ejibas
Bakana (Rivers) – The Nigerian Navy has uncovered an illegal refinery capable of producing 2 million litres per day (LPD) of adulterated diesel in Rivers, an official said.
The site was cleverly concealed within the dense mangrove forests along Ogoloma, Bakana River in the state.
Commodore Cajethan Aniaku, Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, took journalists to witness the site’s destruction on Monday.
He said the discovery of the facility followed over five days of intelligence-gathering and surveillance
He said that the site was discovered following over five days of intelligence-gathering and surveillance to determine the location of the facility.
“The discovery of this massive illegal refining site is line with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Emmanual Ogalla’s directive to clear all illegalities within NNS Pathfinder’s area of operation.
“After sustained intelligence and surveillance, troops found this site with daily capacity to produce over 2 million litres of illegally refined diesel daily.
“Consequently, we deployed swamp buggy machines and have already destroyed over 500 drums containing more than 1 million litres of illegally refined diesel,” he said.
Aniaku noted that the find highlights new tactics adopted by oil thieves to construct illegal refineries.
“This discovery shows that oil thieves have shifted from using metallic tanks to cooking crude oil in less conspicuous metallic drums to produce diesel and other by-products.
“This offers them tactical advantage as the drums are cheaper to construct and easier to dismantle
“After refining, they quickly dismantle the drums and hide them until the next cycle,” he explained.
The navy officer emphasised that traditional drone surveillance was no longer sufficient for detecting such illegal refineries, indicating that strategies are being revised to counter these evolving tactics.
He said that efforts to eradicate illegal refining sites in the state would intensify, including 24-hour patrols and sustained presence in key areas.
Aniaku warned oil thieves of impending arrests and prosecutions of their crime.
