The operations were carried out in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Rivers States in the Niger Delta.

No fewer than 271 local refineries were destroyed, suspects picked up and equipment seized recently in operations by the military in four Nigerian states in the Niger Delta. The Vanguard newspaper said men of the Joint Task Force’s ‘Operation Pulo Shield,’ in the last four weeks destroyed 50 illegal micro-oil refineries in Edo, Delta and Ondo States.

The Fourth Army Brigade, Benin City, Edo State in a statement released over the weekend, said the operations were aimed at enhancing a secure environment in the interest of national security. The Brigade Public Relations Officer, Captain Rosalyn Managbe, said items recovered from the sites of illegal bunkering included 100 Cotonou boats, 12 tankers, 1,300 surface Geepee tanks and 350,000 drums of illegally refined products, six automatic rifles, a sub-machine gun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The JTF Commander, Brigadier-Gen. Obi Umanhi, who appealed to the public for more information to help stamp out criminality, reiterated the command’s resolve to rid the region of criminals.

Similarly, efforts to rid Delta and Rivers States of crude oil theft by the Oil Facility Surveillance team and the Joint Task Force recently led to the destruction of over 221 illegal refineries at Isaba, Isapama, Asugbu and Eleme communities, the Guardian newspaper reported. Also, 15 camps where the illegal acts were carried out were also destroyed. Equipment used in the illicit activities, including pumping machines, pipes and boats were destroyed by the combined team.

Officials of the Oil Facility Surveillance team explained that in the past, only 65 per cent of crude oil pumped from Escravos to Warri Refinery got to its destination. But with the resumption of raids on illegal small refineries, the refinery was now receiving 98 per cent of crude oil supplies via pipelines. The spokesman of the Second Army Brigade, Port Harcourt, Major Michael. O. Etete, disclosed that an illegal refining site almost the size of a standard football pitch had been discovered in Rivers State.

Nigeria is estimated to lose about 7 billion dollars (about FCFA 3,501 billion) yearly to crude oil theft or bunkering, at the rate of 180,000 barrels a day. Oil pipelines are ruptured and the crude siphoned off to vessels waiting offshore. The rest is refined or allowed to leak into Niger Delta’s creeks, causing deadly accidental fires while several square kilometres of wetland vegetation are polluted. The activities are carried out by heavily armed youth ready to open fire on anyone trying to disrupt their trade.