NAF Destroys Seven Illicit Refineries In Rivers State

FOLLOWING successful operations, Nigerian Air Force Delta Safe operators destroyed seven unlawful refining plants and four boats carrying illicitly refined items in Rivers State.

The operations targeted areas including Idama, Ogbomkiri, Arugbana, Ivy Island, and Samkiri, according to a statement made public on Sunday, April 14 by Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, the Nigerian Air Force's Director of Public Relations and Information.

“Air strikes carried out from April 12 to 13, at various locations in Rivers State have significantly disrupted the activities of oil thieves, hindering their efforts to illegally tap and transport crude oil,” Gabkwet said, underscoring the effectiveness of the air strikes against economic saboteurs in the Niger Delta Region.

He went on to describe certain incidents, saying, “In the Idama community, an active illegal refining site was identified and neutralized. Additionally, armed reconnaissance missions over Yellow Island and Cawthorne Channel revealed four boats loaded with illegally refined products, which were subsequently intercepted and destroyed.”

Moreover, Gabkwet related his experiences with oil thieves in Arugbana, where they were establishing an unauthorized refining facility but left when military planes approached.

Illegal refining installations were located and eliminated as a result of similar reconnaissance missions over Ogbomkiri, Ivy Island, and Samkiri.

Four boats and seven illicit refining plants were found and destroyed during the two-day operation.

This operation is the continuation of earlier, successful operations that eliminated two illegal oil refining sites in the same area in March and six illegal oil refining sites at Opu Arugbana in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers in December 2023.