Navy Says Renewed Fight Prevents N30 Billion Crude Oil Theft

The Nigerian Navy has stepped up its campaign against crude oil theft through the current Operation Dakatar Da Barawo, which has prevented thieves from obtaining approximately N30 billion worth of products from illegal refinery facilities in the Niger Delta.

Additionally, more than 100 suspects have been detained and turned over to law enforcement authorities, including the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).

Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, Director of Naval Information (DINFO), disclosed this information on Monday at THISDAY Newspaper's Ikoyi headquarters.

However, the President General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, expressed displeasure over what he described as the federal government's lack of political will to combat crude oil theft as the nation continued to suffer significant economic sabotage as a result of the high level of pipeline vandalism.

The DINFO briefed them on the efforts made so far by the navy to combat maritime crimes, particularly crude oil theft.

The ongoing operation, which was instituted on April 1, 2022, and works in tandem with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), aims to reduce crude oil theft (COT) and related crimes.

In order to do this, he said that all navy personnel and resources in the Niger Delta had consistently and vehemently combated the threat of COT under the guidance of Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS).

In the ongoing operation, hundreds of illegal refinery sites (IRS), ovens, and storage tanks have been demolished, along with tanker trucks, cars, boats, and outboard engines.

Ayo-Vaughan continued by saying that the Navy has stepped up counterterrorism operations against maritime crime, particularly with the use of Swamp Buggies to destroy illegal refinery sites (IRS).

Regarding maritime piracy, he noted that a recent International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report removed the nation from its piracy list as a result of the sharp decline in such attacks in Nigerian waters, adding that "Nigerian waters are safer now in terms of piracy" to support the efforts made by the NN.

He made reference to the drive for resource control as one of the reasons why oil theft thrives when speaking about the alleged cooperation between security personnel and crude oil thieves.

He also added that some Niger Delta residents view the oil as their own and have unluckily mastered connivance.

“I want to look at it from the aspect of the kinetic means that we have put up in the last years.

"Oil theft has been there for a long time.

“Unfortunately, some of our personnel are also complacent and compromised. But under the present leadership of Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, with the renewed fight against crude oil theft, that is in the past.

“We will continue to do the needful. We’ve not had issues of compromised personnel but we see it on the other side.

The Chief of Defence Staff is addressing that.”

In order to shed additional light on the crude oil theft scandal, he stated it was a complex problem where these thieves steal from pipelines that have been vandalised at abandoned and unprofitable oil wells.

“International oil companies complete exploration of our oil well according to the regulation and standard international practice.

"Once you do that, you seal the oil well because it is no longer commercially viable but it can still produce.

“The problem is that they don’t seal it. So it creates an avenue for people that are living off the creeks to have access to crude oil.

"If access can be denied then you cannot get the crude.

"But when access is there, that’s when theft occurs.”

Regarding the measures taken by the navy to combat this, he added that they patrol the whole Niger Delta, with a focus on the Port-Harcourt, Warri, and Yenagoa axes where they have located the illegal refining sites.

“Many of them have set up heavy metallic steel ovens and drums for the refining process.

"In these cases, we use Swamp Buggies to destroy them.

"It entails a lot of resources and that is why operation Dakatar Da Barawo was set up and launched by the Nigerian Navy in collaboration with NNPC for logistics.

“Our men are there every day. As I speak to you, they are carrying out different patrols in the creeks to ensure that they do not reactivate those illegal refining sites. Now, that is the kinetic means.

“The non-kinetic means is for political leaders- the governors in the Niger Delta to prevail on the people and get meaningful engagement for the young people that don’t have anything to do apart from vandalising oil pipelines.

“Perhaps, that’s the reason Tompolo has been given the contract again to mobilise the young people and ensure they are not vandalising pipelines, using the human resources on the ground to address the problem.”