Crude oil thieves operating across Nigeria’s waterways have been put on notice, with the Nigerian Navy warning that improved maritime surveillance is making it increasingly difficult for criminal networks to evade detection.
Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, issued the warning on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. He said criminals involved in oil theft would be intercepted and handed over to face the law.
Folorunsho said the Navy’s surveillance capabilities, combined with the sustained operations directed by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, had reduced the room for criminals to operate undetected.
The warning came a day after the Navy reported discovering three suspected illegal refining sites and six reservoirs in Rivers and Delta states. About 99,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil were also recovered during the operations.
The naval spokesman said the scale of crude oil theft showed that the operations were not being carried out by petty criminals alone. He described those behind large-scale theft as sophisticated syndicates with the resources and logistics required to move significant quantities of crude.
“You don’t steal crude at that scale without some wherewithal to be able to make it happen,” Folorunsho said, noting that large-scale operations could involve ships and complex maritime logistics.
He said increased federal investment in naval equipment had strengthened the military’s ability to monitor Nigeria’s waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone. According to him, the Navy can detect suspicious activities at sea and move quickly to intercept vessels involved in illegal operations.
“It’s almost impossible for you to operate in Nigerian waters and well within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without us being able to see you,” he said. Folorunsho warned that the Navy would continue its operations against oil theft and other maritime crimes, adding that suspected offenders would be made to face the law.
