Navy uncovers 40,000-litre illegal refinery in Rivers
The Nigerian Navy and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft have uncovered a 40,000-litre-capacity illegal crude oil refinery in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, while a special prosecution team says it has secured 137 convictions for petroleum theft since its establishment.
The refinery was discovered on Friday during a joint operation at a remote creek in Bonny following actionable intelligence coordinated through the Joint Intelligence Monitoring Team.
Nkereuwem Effiong
The Nigerian Navy and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft have uncovered a 40,000-litre-capacity illegal crude oil refinery in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, while a special prosecution team says it has secured 137 convictions for petroleum theft since its establishment.
The refinery was discovered on Friday during a joint operation at a remote creek in Bonny following actionable intelligence coordinated through the Joint Intelligence Monitoring Team.
The operation involved personnel from several security and intelligence agencies.
The Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base, Bonny, Captain Stanley Umeh, described the facility as the largest his team had uncovered since he assumed command in March 2026.
Umeh said the refinery was still at the preparatory stage and had not commenced full-scale refining.
He said the size and layout of the facility suggested that its operators intended to siphon crude oil and process it in large quantities.
According to him, the discovery resulted from sustained collaboration and intelligence-sharing among security agencies working within and outside Bonny.
Umeh said the Navy would intensify surveillance and patrols across the waterways and remote areas of the local government.
He reaffirmed the force’s zero-tolerance policy towards crude oil theft and other illegal activities within Bonny and the country’s maritime corridors.
Meanwhile, the Head of Investigation of the Special Prosecution Team of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft, CSP Omar John Sini, said the team had secured 137 convictions since its formation in 2025.
Sini attributed the convictions and the latest operation to improved collaboration among intelligence, security and law-enforcement agencies.
He said the Joint Intelligence Monitoring Team, led by Major General A.A. Idris under the supervision of the Chief of Defence Staff, provided intelligence that helped locate and track the illegal refinery.
Sini said three suspects allegedly linked to the financing of the refinery were already in custody and would face prosecution in accordance with the law.
He said the authorities’ objective was not merely to detect petroleum theft but to prevent it and ensure that offenders faced penalties capable of deterring further criminal activity.
The development comes amid intensified efforts by security agencies to curb crude oil theft and illegal refining activities in the Niger Delta.
