The Nigerian Navy on Tuesday affirmed a reduction in the tempo of crude oil theft and other maritime crimes in the Niger Delta region.
The immediate past Commander of the NNS Delta, Commodore Chindo Yahaya, while speaking during a farewell parade organised in his honour at the Warri Naval Base specifically disclosed that the negative trends have reduced drastically in its areas of operations.
Yahaya, in his address, recalled that he assumed office on May 2, 2023, as the 13th Commander of the NNS Delta, noting that despite the myriad of challenges, his tenure had recorded resounding successes in its areas of operations which include the destruction of illegal refining sites and arrest of sea pirates/robbers.
According to him, the Base anti-crude oil theft operatives apprehended several suspects with offences bordering on crude oil theft and improper documentation adding that some vessels were also apprehended and consequently handed over to the anti-graft agency and other relevant authorities for appropriate prosecutions, during his tenure of office.
He said that the NNS Delta also participated in various clearance operations and exercises in line with the Base’s mandate of securing the maritime environment to enhance economic activities.
He said, “I am happy to inform you that our collective efforts and commitment have brought about a commendable reduction in crude oil theft and other maritime crimes.
“The Base anti-crude oil theft operations have recorded success in the destruction of illegal refining sites in our areas of operations.
“During the period under review, the Base destroyed various illegal refining sites and storage facilities containing stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automated Gasoline Oil (AGO).
“Furthermore, from May 2023 to date, the Base patrolled for about 21,630 hours resulting in the deactivation of illegal refining sites and handling of stolen crude oil.”
The outgone Commander spoke further saying that the deployment of swamp buggies had successfully discouraged the operations of illegal bunkering in its areas of operations.
He remarked, “The last swamp buggy operations we conducted between August 20 and September 23, 2023, recorded a total of about 105,000 litres of stolen crude oil and 18,000 litres of illegal refined AGO.
“This is indeed a testament to the laudable performance of this Base in the period under review.
“For this, I am sincerely grateful for the dedication and commitment of all officers and ratings of the Base. I urged you to extend the same and even more to the incoming Commander.”
The new Commander of NNS Delta, Commodore Muhsin Abba, while addressing journalists assured that the personnel would be encouraged to discharge their duties following the mandates of the Nigerian Navy.
“They should be disciplined, obedient, loyal and should not collaborate with anybody that undermines the economic activities of the country.
“As you know, oil is the mainstay of our economy and anything that will impede the production of oil within our areas of operations is going to be stopped.
“We will ensure that the mandate is pursued to the best of our ability,” Abba said.
According to the recently released data by the National Bureau of Statistics, the oil sector regained momentum after 14 consecutive quarters of contraction, increasing by 12.11 percent y/y (Q3-23: -0.85%) – the highest point since Q1-18 (+14.02% y/y).
“We attribute the growth of the oil sector to the higher crude oil production volumes (1.53mb/d vs Q3-23: 1.43mb/d | Q4-22: 1.35mb/d) in line with the renewed effort by the FG to curb crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism,” NBS said.
