The Nigerian Navy has destroyed an illegal refinery in the creeks of Cartharwn Channel axis, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Navy officials on routine operation against oil theft, arrived the jetty, on board gun boats of the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, sailing through the crude-oil-polluted water, before arriving at the illegal refinery.
Naval operations commander stated that the Navy was committed to ending crude oil theft in the region.
“The base usually carries out this kind of operation regularly based on naval intelligence report." the Naval official said.
"The crude oil thieves use boats to carry the stolen products. Then discharge it into a tank for onward refining with the local refinery made of manually constructed tanks,”
After setting the local refinery on fire, the naval officials returned to the jetty, where the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas, in company of senior naval officers addressed the officials.
“We are redefining our patrol strategies to ensure that we create more choke points so that when you steal what you want to steal, you cannot have access into the open sea,” Ibas said.
Several shots were fired in the air, as the officers attempted to ward off any possible attack by militants in the area and Ibas warned that any officer found aiding and abetting crude oil theft would be severly prosecuted
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