Nigerian Navy Says Oil Thieves Have No Hiding Place with Enhanced Surveillance
The Nigerian Navy has warned crude oil thieves that the country’s waterways will be too hot for them to operate, stating there is no hiding place with its maritime surveillance equipment. Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, issued the warning on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief’ on Thursday, a day after the navy announced it had uncovered three suspected illegal refining sites, six reservoirs and about 99,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil in its operational areas in Rivers and Delta states. Folorunsho said the warning comes under the directive of Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, and stressed that if caught, criminals will face the law. He described the thieves as sophisticated syndicates that require ships and significant resources to operate at scale, noting that the Federal Government’s investments have equipped the navy with some of the finest maritime surveillance gear, making it almost impossible to operate large vessels within Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone without detection. The crackdown targets a major source of revenue loss, environmental damage, and insecurity in the Niger Delta. By interdicting vessels and seizing stolen product, the navy aims to disrupt the logistics of oil theft syndicates. With surveillance now covering the EEZ, the navy says it can intercept criminals as soon as they start operations, rendering their efforts unsuccessful. As the navy steps up surveillance, will coastal communities see a tangible drop in oil‑theft incidents, and what complementary measures should authorities and locals take to sustain these gains?