Nigeria’s Navy is intensifying its anti-crude oil theft efforts with a 90-day extension of Operation DELTA SANITY in the Niger Delta region. Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla aims to eradicate illegal activities and stimulate economic development.
On January 6, 2024, the Chief of Naval Staff spearheaded the launch of Operation DELTA SANITY, mobilizing the Nigerian Navy’s finest personnel, advanced platforms, helicopters, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to conduct robust surveillance and interdiction operations across the Niger Delta.
To tackle the scourge of maritime criminalities, the Navy has instructed its commands, units, and bases to adopt a multi-faceted approach, deploying both kinetic (military action) and non-kinetic (strategic engagement) operations to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks.
At the Nigerian Navy Ship PATHFINDER in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, announced the extension of Operation DELTA SANITY, revealing that the operation has achieved significant success in disrupting the activities of oil thieves and vandals in the Niger Delta, denying them freedom of action.
Operation DELTA SANITY, a multi-state operation spanning Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, has yielded impressive results, with the recovery of large quantities of stolen products, the dismantling of illegal refining sites, and the arrest of suspects, marking a major victory in the fight against oil theft and illegal activities.
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The Nigerian Navy has announced a series of significant recoveries in the fight against oil theft, according to a statement by Commodore Aiwuyor Adam-Aliu, Director of Information. The recoveries, made between January and April, include the arrest of 74 suspects, the deactivation of 447 dugout pits, and the shutdown of 120 illegal refining sites.
The Nigerian Navy has released a statement detailing its successes in the fight against oil theft, revealing a slew of seizures and deactivations. In the period under review, 119 storage tanks and refining ovens were deactivated, 95 wooden boats and 13 fiber boats were confiscated, and 14 vessels and nine vehicles were seized, demonstrating the Navy’s commitment to tackling oil theft.
While appreciating President Bola Tinubu, the CNS in the statement , said, ”The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has been supporting the Armed Forces in general and the Nigerian Navy in particular”
In a nod to the unsung heroes of the Nigerian Navy, the Chief of Naval Staff commended the officers and men who tirelessly sacrifice their physical comfort to execute Operation DELTA SANITY, acknowledging their unwavering commitment to safeguarding the nation’s maritime domain.