The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has seized the site of an illegal refinery undergoing construction at Umuechem in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The State Commandant of NSCDC, Basil Igwebueze, said the site was discovered following credible intelligence.
He said the command immediately took actionable steps to cordon off the area where the illegal refinery was being constructed.
He said: “We got a credible Intelligence that there is an illegal oil refinery site under construction at Umuechem in Etche Local Government Area.
“The Command Antivandal Unit took a proactive step and swung into action by capturing the environment to forestall all activities of illegal dealings in petroleum products in the area.
“As you can see this illegal refinery is located in a thick bush showing how defiant and desperate the oil thieves can be. Recall that the activities of local refineries have often led to environmental degradation, pollution, and health hazards and we will not tolerate that henceforth”.
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He said the oil thieves had already installed two 20,000-capacity receiver tanks, two 25,000-litre cooking ovens, and two 4-inch galvanized pipes of about 400 meters in length.
Basil said under his watch the command would continue to solicit more sustained and credible Intelligence that would assist in nipping into the bud such nefarious activities.
He assured that the informants would be adequately protected insisting that the command would keep waging war against oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in Rivers.
Basil lamented that in spite of the continuous fight against oil theft, some unscrupulous elements were determined not to repent in sabotaging the nation’s economy.