By Ken Afor
The Special Intelligence Squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), under the Commandant General, recently dismantled an illegal refining site containing over 100,000 liters of stolen crude oil in Adobe settlement, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Dandaura Appolos, Commander of the CG’s SIS, briefed journalists, stating that the operation was based on credible intelligence indicating that suspects had vandalized a wellhead belonging to a multinational company. He explained that the suspects had connected galvanized metal pipes with large hoses to siphon and process the crude oil locally.
Meanwhile, NSCDC Spokesman Babawale Afolabi, in a statement on Saturday, said that the SIS responded promptly to the information, discovering multiple sites where extensive illegal refining operations were being conducted.
“As we value and protect our informants, the information received is always treated with caution and prompt alertness. Upon arrival, the suspects fled, but we arrested one Godspower Oyibo (32), from Delta State, who is now assisting with further investigation.
“At the crime scene, reservoirs cemented with trampoline were found filled with approximately 100,000 liters of crude oil.
“The following exhibits were sighted: a yellow-colored Robin EY 20 pumping machine, galvanized metal pipes, long large hoses, an already vandalized wellhead, stolen crude worth 100,000 liters stored in reservoirs, calibrated surface tanks, processed AGO in cooking pots, and metal buckets,” he said.
The recent discovery of an illegal oil refinery site by the security agency is one of many in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
It would be recalled that on May 9, 2024, the military Joint Task Force in the region, called “Operation Delta Safe (OPDS),” busted 50 illegal refining sites in the Biseni forest in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
According to Rear Admiral John Okeke, the Commander of OPDS, the sites were engaging in the illegal refining of stolen crude oil on a daily basis before the military operation disrupted their activities.
Okeke revealed that one of the illegal refining sites contained a massive dugout open pit capable of accommodating more than 10 trucks of Alternative Gas Oil (AGO), which was being used to store crude oil before distribution to various cooking sites, as reported by Vanguard.
He said, “On May 9, 2024, we were at Ukwa West LGA, in Abua State bordering Rivers State, a contiguous forest bear a shared along Imo River.”
“Today, like I said, we are not going to relent and it is work in progress. We will not get tired; we will continue. We are in Biseni in Yenagoa LGA of Bayelsa. We traversed from Ahoada West LGA of Rivers to reach this point. The most surprising thing is that this place we are now is housing over 50 cooking sites with unique arrangements.
“Why have the thieves operating in this area decided to be so smart by connecting what is called a theft line made of two-inch pipe, a galvanized pipe connecting directly to the supply oil line on the road, from a distance of one kilometer?
“Then they have a lot of funny connections where they have various arrangements of connection, multiple connections where each of the thieves gets their supply. From a large dugout open pit that can accommodate more than 10 trucks of AGO, holding crude oil from where they distribute to their cooking site.
“Look at the thick forest we are in now; you can never imagine that such a serious crime is going on here. If not for the good-spirited individuals that volunteer information, we wouldn’t have known.”
