The Nigerian Navy has declared a war on oil thieves following its destruction of illegal oil refinery sites at Obe-Nla in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The state governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who would be sworn-in on February 24, after winning the November 16, 2024 governorship election, is from Obe-Nla, an oil bearing community in Ilaje.

The Commander of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB), in Igbokoda, Aliyu Usman, who disclosed this to journalists on Thursday, said his men uncovered nine illegal refining sites at the Obenla community in the Ilaje LGA

Mr Usman explained that 20,000 litres of crude oil and another 15,000 litres of illegally refined diesel were kept in a farmstead used for the illegal refining sites within the waterside community in Obe-Nla.

He explained that the operation, which was carried based on an intel, was noticed by reliable sources on January 6, 2025, revealing that the oil thieves had taken to their heels before the arrival of the officers.

“In continuation with the efforts of the Nigerian Navy to stop all acts of crude oil theft and illegal banking activities within the Nigerian environment, the Forward Operating Base, Igbokoda, stormed a farmhouse of illegal refining camp within Obenla community, where we discovered about nine illegal refining sites within the Obenla sea sites.

“On arrival at the scene, the perpetrators (oil thieves) have fled, obviously informed about our coming in fear of arrest. Our decisive action underscores the navy’s commitment to combating crude oil theft and safeguarding the nation’s resources. However, the entire area was crammed, and we discovered about 20,000 litres of stolen crude oil, which had yet to be cooked, and about 15,000 litres of illegally refined product suspected to be automatic gas oil (AGO), or diesel,” Mr Usman said.

He noted that the navy also destroyed some makeshift structures being used by the oil thieves to perpetrate their illegal activities, adding that the sites would be constantly monitored.

Mr Usman explained that the destruction of the illegal oil refinery site was another achievement for the Nigerian Navy in an effort to clean up the environment and prevent acts of illegalities by saboteurs against the Nigerian government and its economy

He said, “These efforts will continue until all illegalities are stopped, and this will be sustained as long as possible.”

Urging the residents of the waterside community to avoid harbouring oil thieves in their domain, Mr Usman said the people must join hands with the security agencies to wage war against those sabotaging the nation’s growth and economic development.

He stated, “We call on all community leaders and traditional leaders to further educate their subjects and ensure such activities are promptly reported to the Nigerian Navy for urgent action in the interest of the country. The Nigerian Navy will not relent in our efforts to stop all acts of illegality. It is in their interest to find legitimate businesses to engage in. For the Nigerian Navy, we will get to them, and all that they have built through these illegalities will be destroyed. They won’t have any respite.’’

Ondo is part of the oil producing states in Nigeria – a country with one of Africa’s leading oil exporters. But, the industrial scale oil theft in the state has continued to pose a major threat to communities and the wider economy. Oil theft costs the country millions of dollars each month.

President Bola Tinubu had reiterated his administration’s commitment to tackling crude oil theft in the country with the desire to achieve economic growth and stability.

Last year, Mr Tinubu gave a marching order to the military and other security agencies to work tirelessly to counter the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, particularly in the Niger Delta region.

The Niger Delta, an important oil-producing region

in the country, provides 70 per cent of Nigeria’s government revenue, according to a report by Transparency International (TI).

The report revealed that aside from the legitimate trade in the Delta’s oil products, there is a lucrative and organised illicit oil trade that reportedly costs Nigeria

200,000 barrels of oil every day.