Navy says Bonny operation uncovered 40,000-litre illegal refinery; three suspects held

The Nigerian Navy and a federal task force say a joint operation uncovered a 40,000-litre-capacity illegal refinery in the creeks of Bonny, Rivers State, with three suspected financiers in custody.

Officials described the operation on Friday, saying it followed intelligence coordinated through the Joint Intelligence Monitoring Team. The facility was still being prepared for use, according to the Navy.

Captain Stanley Umeh, commanding officer of the Navy’s Forward Operating Base in Bonny, said personnel travelled by gunboat and then trekked through thick vegetation to reach the site. He described it as the biggest discovery his team had made since he assumed command in March 2026.

Umeh said the team had intercepted the facility before it became fully operational. He also said the Navy would increase land and water surveillance around Bonny to locate installations hidden in the creeks.

Omar John Sini, head of investigation for the federal Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft’s Special Prosecution Team, said the three people in custody were suspected of financing the operation. He said the team intended to prosecute them and had approached a court for a relevant order, according to Punch.

Sini said the task force was inaugurated on March 1, 2025, to investigate and prosecute offences in the hydrocarbon sector. He put the team’s convictions since inception at at least 137, a cumulative figure rather than convictions arising from this discovery.

He called for stronger sentencing provisions for petroleum theft, arguing that existing penalties did not always provide enough deterrence.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard