The Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) BONNY in Rivers State on Thursday, 25 January 2024, destroyed some illegal refining sites as well uncovered tapped wellheads in Cawthorne Channel.
The Commanding Officer of the FOB, Bonny, Commodore Reginald Adoki described the operation as “a proactive measure to curtail criminal activities while preventing environmental degradation, amongst others”.
Notably, the operation, which also had men of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER, was conducted to dismantle Illegal Refining Sites (IRS) in areas such as the Cawthorne Channel 1, Sodienyekiri and Birakiri in Rivers State. The IRS discovered at Cawthorne Channel 1 had a hose rigged to a wellhead to siphon crude oil into a reservoir.
He added that a total of 8 constructed ovens, 9 storage tanks, and several reservoirs were destroyed during the operation.
Commodore Adoki reports that the Nigerian Navy was making efforts to contact the owners of the wellheads for the removal of the hoses and the clamping of the breeched wellheads which were pinned to the seabed.
According to Commodore R Adoki, the operation was the first of series planned to clear the Cawthorne Channel axis and other places within the area of such illegal sites.
He also noted that Nigerian Navy recognizes the urgency of addressing illegal bunkering activities.
He further asserted that the operation marks a significant step in actualizing the objectives of Operation DELTA SANITY which are to combat crude oil theft and illegal bunkering. Under Operation DELTA SANITY, the Nigeria Navy has come all out and is poised more than ever to rid the Niger Delta of crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in line with the strategic directives of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla”.
Commodore R Adoki further affirmed that as part of the Nigerian Navy’s commitment to transparency, further investigations into the criminal networks associated with illegal refinery sites are underway.
He enjoined the public to cooperate with the Nigerian Navy by providing any relevant information that would aid in the ongoing efforts to dismantle these criminal networks.
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