Nigerian Army has uncovered an illegal refinery along the Mirinwanyi channel of the Imo River in the Komkom area of the Oyigbo Local Government Area, Rivers State.
Major General Jamal Abdussalam, the General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, revealed that the troops seized approximately five million litres of stolen crude oil stored in a reservoir at the illegal facility.
Major General Abdussalam emphasised the involvement of influential individuals in oil theft due to the scale of the illicit activities.
He expressed concern, stating, “I said it before that most of the arrest were labourers working on the site; we have not been able to get real culprits. We can see the facilities here. It is not something that ordinary persons can set up. It needs money, expertise and careful planning.
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“So it is beyond the people we arrest. We are following several leads and we are hoping that those leads will take us to those, who are actually responsible,” Abdussalam added.
This discovery follows a similar incident a week ago when the military found three million litres of crude oil in an illegal refinery at Odagwa in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The GOC, referring to the recent discovery as “sad,” affirmed the military’s commitment to eradicating all illegal refineries and connections within its jurisdiction.
Describing the operation, Major General Abdussalam articulated, “This is in continuation of our operations to destroy all illegal refineries, illegal connections in our area of responsibility. Based on credible intelligence, this morning, our troops raided this location.
“I thought we would not see anything more than the raid we carried out at Odagwa, unfortunately we are seeing very sad illegal activities taking place in this area.
“We have discovered over 15 boilers and about nine reservoirs. From our estimation, the crude oil that had been stolen and reserved here for processing is over five million litres.
“On our way, we saw large Cotonou boats capable of taking 200 litres. We saw more than five on our way filled with crude oil. It is indeed very sad that these activities continued. We will not get tired. We will continue with our job,” Abdussalam promised.