Nigerian Navy Recovers 4.7m Litres of Stolen Crude, Arrests 91 Suspects in Renewed Offensive

The Nigerian Navy has intensified its campaign against crude oil theft and other forms of economic sabotage in the Niger Delta, recovering more than 4.698 million litres of stolen crude oil and illegally refined petroleum products during the second quarter of its Operation DELTA SENTINEL.

The renewed offensive, conducted between April and June 2026, also resulted in the arrest of more than 91 suspects, the dismantling of over 48 illegal refining sites and the interception of several vessels allegedly linked to crude oil theft and other maritime crimes.

The Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed the operational gains while providing an update on the Navy's ongoing efforts to disrupt criminal networks involved in oil theft, illegal refining, pipeline vandalism and related economic crimes in the oil-producing region.

Folorunsho said the intensified operations followed the successful completion of the first quarter of Operation DELTA SENTINEL and were designed to consolidate the gains recorded in the fight against criminal activities threatening Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

According to him, naval forces conducted more than 580 intelligence-driven operations across Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River and Lagos states during the three-month period.

The operations, he said, significantly disrupted the activities of criminal syndicates operating across the Niger Delta and adjoining waterways, while denying oil thieves and other economic saboteurs the freedom to operate.

Among the major operational successes recorded during the period was the arrest of the motor tankers MKPODU, WESTAF and STELIOS K, which the Navy said were allegedly involved in the theft of more than 900 metric tonnes of suspected stolen crude oil.

The Navy also reported the recovery of more than 708,000 litres of illegally refined petroleum products and 310,000 litres of stolen crude oil from a single illegal refining site in Ndoni, Rivers State.

Folorunsho said the recoveries were part of a broader series of intelligence-led operations carried out to dismantle the infrastructure sustaining illegal oil production and distribution across the region.

He explained that naval personnel targeted reactivated illegal refining camps, illicit petroleum consignments and criminal networks attempting to rebuild their operations after earlier facilities had been destroyed.

According to him, coordinated riverine operations led to the destruction of numerous illegal refining sites, reservoirs, dugout pits, storage facilities, warehouses, concealed fuel dumps, illegal pipeline connections and militant hideouts.

The Navy spokesman also disclosed that security forces had identified a growing pattern in which criminal groups were attempting to return to illegal refining locations previously dismantled during earlier military operations.

He said sustained follow-up operations had, however, helped prevent the regeneration of the illegal refining ecosystem and further weakened the economic viability of crude oil theft networks.

The Navy attributed the successes recorded during the second quarter to sustained intelligence gathering, enhanced surveillance and closer cooperation with other security agencies involved in the protection of Nigeria's critical oil and gas infrastructure.

The renewed crackdown comes against the backdrop of efforts by the Federal Government to increase crude oil production and improve revenue from the petroleum sector, with oil theft and pipeline vandalism having remained major challenges to the country's production capacity over the years.

The Navy also linked its operational gains to recent improvements in Nigeria's crude oil production figures.

It noted that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission had recently announced that the country's crude oil production rose to 1.735 million barrels per day in June 2026.

The figure, according to the commission's reported data, represented 104 per cent of Nigeria's OPEC production quota and marked the country's highest production level since April 2020.

The Navy said the improvement in production reflected, among other factors, enhanced security around critical oil and gas infrastructure and the collective efforts of security agencies to disrupt crude oil theft and protect production facilities.

The Service further maintained that its sustained presence across the waterways of the Niger Delta had helped to restrict the movement of criminal groups, disrupt illicit petroleum supply chains and strengthen the protection of strategic national assets.

Despite the progress, the scale of the operations underscores the continuing challenge posed by oil theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta, where criminal networks have historically exploited difficult terrain and extensive waterways to operate clandestinely.

The Navy reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining intelligence-driven operations across Nigeria's maritime domain and pledged to deepen collaboration with other security and regulatory agencies to dismantle oil theft networks.

The Service also said it would continue supporting the Federal Government's target of raising Nigeria's crude oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day by 2027.

The target, it said, remains aligned with the vision of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, to strengthen maritime security and safeguard Nigeria's economic assets.

The Navy's latest operational figures are expected to further fuel discussions around the relationship between improved security, rising crude oil production and the government's broader efforts to restore stability and increase revenues in the petroleum sector.