Troops of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, have arrested 69 suspected oil thieves and confiscated more than 32,000 litres of stolen petroleum products in an ongoing anti-crude oil theft operation across the Niger Delta region.

Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, said in a statement yesterday that the joint operation with other security agencies was conducted between August 11 and 24, 2025. He noted that the clampdown led to the deactivation of nine illegal refining sites, several seizures, and multiple arrests for oil theft and related offences.

In Delta State, troops intercepted two trucks carrying more than 15,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) at Sapele, arresting three suspects. At One Man Village in Sapele, 16 cellophane bags of AGO were recovered, while in Nana Town, Warri North, drums and jerricans of refined products were uncovered.

In Rivers State, soldiers dismantled three refining sites at Kilometre 45 in Degema, recovering more than 7,000 litres of stolen products and seizing a wooden boat. At Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, two wooden boats with sacks of stolen condensates were intercepted. A dugout pit containing 1,500 litres of condensate was discovered near an illegal connection point, while in Oyigbo, more than 1,500 litres of products were recovered. At Akankurma Okoloma in Okrika, troops dismantled another refining site, seizing a drum pot, a receiver, five drums of stolen crude, and arresting three suspects.

Further operations in Andoni led to the seizure of a fibre boat, a cooking pot, pipes and valves. Along the Imo River, 2,000 litres of stolen products were recovered and two illegal refining sites destroyed.

In Bayelsa State, troops uncovered an illegal refining site in Biseni, Yenagoa Local Council, where two reservoirs containing more than 7,000 litres of crude were found. In Akwa Ibom State, the Army said its presence denied oil thieves the freedom to operate.

Danjuma confirmed that all suspects had been handed over to the appropriate security agencies for prosecution, while the confiscated products were managed in line with operational directives .