The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral James Oluwole, was at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Rumuorlumeni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on February 4 this year, where he briefed reporters on the successes recorded during the strategic Operation River Sweep 1.
He disclosed that his command pioneered a new strategy of using swamp buggy to completely crush, mangle and bury the destroyed equipment of illegal refiners in the crude oil and gas-rich Niger Delta region.
Rear Admiral Oluwole revealed that illegal refineries worth N3 billion were destroyed in the Operation River Sweep 1.
The FOC, who is also the Commander Task Group for Operation River Sweep 1, during the February 4 new declared that there was no going back in the fight against crude oil theft and illegal refiners in the Niger Delta, revealing that between N15 million and N25 million would be needed to set up illegal refineries in the creeks, making crushing the illegal refineries the best decision of the Eastern Naval Command and that without site to refine the stolen crude oil, the illegal activities would become impossible.
Rear Admiral Oluwole, who was accompanied at the news conference by the Command Operations Officer of the Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Razak Babalola, and the Commander of NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Williams Kayoda, among other senior naval officers, assured that the navy would win the war against oil thieves and illegal refiners, which he said had just started.
The Eastern Naval Command comprises Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, with Operation River Sweep 2 ongoing in Central Naval Command, which consists of Bayelsa, Delta and Edo States, while Operation River Sweep 3 will later hold in the Western Naval Command.
Rear Admiral Oluwole also stated that with further support to the Nigerian Navy, in terms of provision of additional appropriate assets, the service would even do more in protecting the economic lifeline of Nigeria.
He noted that stopping the activities of illegal refineries required one to either block the siphoning source, destroy their operation areas or markets for their products.
The FOC said: “In the last 28 days, the participating units arrested three vessels engaged in various maritime crimes. Two of these vessels: MV Lewis Ejiro and MV Lady Swithin, were arrested laden with illegally-refined AGO (diesel). 40 illegal refineries, 60 large wooden boats, each with capacity for 33,000 litres, depending on size, 5,240,000 litres of illegally-refined AGO and four speed boats were destroyed. The total estimated loss for the destroyed illegal refineries is about N3 billion. Items recovered include 3 generators, 16 pumping machines, 2 welding machines, 3 outboard engines and 2 hoses. 5 suspected vandals were arrested.
“The activities of oil thieves and sea robbers have been effectively checked. The well-planned and coordinated patrol activities have denied the criminals freedom of action within the Onne creeks and environs. The resultant effect is the drastic reduction in cases of sea robbery, pipeline vandalism and operation of illegal oil refineries.
“Illegal bunkering activities have also been reduced to the barest minimum within the area of operation. The colossal losses of boats and the oil products in recent times are discouraging illegal bunkering in the affected areas.”
Rear Admiral Oluwole also disclosed that the operation was successfully conducted between January 8 and February 4 this year, with two ships in the Eastern Naval Command’s fleet: NNS Ologbo and NNS Burutu, in addition to eight patrol boats from NNS Pathfinder and the Forward Operating Base (FOB), Bonny, as well as one naval helicopter (NN 231) from the Naval Flying Unit, Port Harcourt.
He accused most people of the communities in the Niger Delta of shielding the illegal refiners and other criminals, who he insisted were well known to the leaders/elders of the various communities, while declaring that naval personnel would continue to destroy, crush, mangle and bury the equipment of the illegal refineries, thereby running the criminals out of business.
He said: “The successes were made possible through the use of a new strategy, initiated and employed by the Eastern Naval Command, for stopping proliferation of illegal refineries and other crimes in our maritime domain.
“The Nigerian Navy, as a major stakeholder in the protection of the maritime environment, uprooted, destroyed and disposed all illegal-refinery equipment, in a manner that is consistent with global environment best practices.”
