The Nigerian Navy has thwarted yet another scheme by crude oil theft gangs to set up illegal storage facilities in Bonny, Rivers state. Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, the Director of Naval Information, disclosed this in an operational briefing on Monday in Abuja.
Personnel from the Forward Operating Base in Bonny executed the raid as part of Operation DELTA SENTINEL, targeting the Dema Abbey community. They uncovered seven hidden dugout pits scattered across the location, all positioned to facilitate illegal crude oil storage.
Four of the pits had been freshly dug, while three held water, suggesting active preparations for oil theft operations, Folorunsho explained. He noted that similar concealed pits discovered in recent raids had served as temporary holding areas for stolen crude before transport to illegal refineries.
Navy teams demolished the newly excavated pits in line with standard anti-crude oil theft protocols. This action stripped criminal networks of the storage infrastructure they needed to establish another hub in the Bonny zone, according to the spokesperson.
The operation reflects the navy's strategy of intercepting crude oil theft at the preparation phase rather than waiting for criminal activity to fully materialise. By targeting the physical infrastructure that enables smuggling before it becomes operational, the navy disrupts the entire criminal chain, Folorunsho said.
He stressed that this preventive tactic continues to damage the supply networks that sustain crude oil theft and unlicensed refining across the Niger Delta region. The approach denies thieves and black market refiners the tools they rely on to function.
Folorunsho reaffirmed the navy's dedication to intelligence-based operations designed to dismantle criminal infrastructure and block economic saboteurs from operating freely. The service remains focused on protecting Nigeria's oil and gas resources as part of efforts to secure national economic interests, he added.
