The Nigerian Navy has successfully frustrated repeated attempts by oil thieves to reactivate dismantled illegal refining infrastructure in Rivers State, consolidating its persistent operational control over notorious bunkering hotspots.
​Operating under the auspices of Operation DELTA SENTINEL, tactical units deployed from NNS Pathfinder conducted a series of high-intensity clearance operations over the weekend, dealing a severe blow to economic saboteurs in the Niger Delta region.
​According to naval sitreps, the operations targeted deep mangrove creeks notorious for illicit refining activities.
Patrol teams intercepted syndicates attempting to reconstruct collapsed cooking pots and assembly lines in the Cawthorne Channel & Alakiri Creeks on Saturday Morning. Over 15 illegally fabricated reservoirs and thousands of liters of crudely refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) were neutralized.
Special forces dismantled three freshly erected wooden boats (Cotonou boats) laden with stolen crude oil in Bille Communities, preventing them from discharging at newly cleared dugout pits.
​Speaking from the operational headquarters in Port Harcourt on Sunday afternoon, Commander of NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Ibrahim Abubakar, emphasized that the Navy’s current strategy focuses on denying criminals the breathing room to rebuild.
​”Operation DELTA SENTINEL has transitioned from occasional raids to permanent, persistent dominance. We are not just dismantling these sites; we are monitoring them 24/7 using aerial surveillance and forward operating gunboats. Anyone attempting to return to these ruined camps is walking into a trap.”
​The Nigerian Navy’s intensified clamping down on oil theft forms part of a broader federal mandate to boost domestic crude production and protect the maritime environment from severe eco-pollution caused by illegal refining activities. Local community leaders have been urged to continuously feed actionable intelligence to security agencies to sustain the current gains.
