NSCDC Goes though on Illegal Refinery, Arrests 9 Suspected Oil Thieves 

The NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, made the announcement on Monday in Abuja. He detailed the operation, stating, “We apprehended nine suspects caught in the act of illegally refining stolen crude extracted from a vandalized oil wellhead. During the operation, we also discovered an ongoing construction of a local refinery capable of producing 60,000 litres of crude at once.”

Afolabi highlighted the scale of the illegal operation, noting the presence of large hoses and galvanized metal pipes used to transfer the stolen crude through various processing channels.

The suspects arrested include:
– Oghene Wede, 32
– Moses James, 25
– Chidi Nwosu, 53
– Samuel John, 24
– Emmanuel Paul, 20
– Oghenevo Nwebi, 43
– Martina Whinnypeter, 38
– Nwabuchi Nwogu, 41
– David Okere, 20

Interrogations and further investigations have begun, and the suspects will be charged in court soon.

Afolabi described the illegal refinery site as massive, containing over 15 modular ovens, four fabricated reservoirs, and 30 pits used for storing processed automotive gas oil (AGO). Among the items recovered were a power generating set, two yellow pumping machines, metal and plastic buckets, cutlasses, saws, mats, welding machines, galvanized metal pipes, and various heavy-duty hoses.

This operation follows another recent success by the NSCDC. On Saturday, operatives uncovered and dismantled an illegal refining site in Adobi settlement, Etche Local Government, Rivers State, seizing over 100,000 litres of stolen crude oil.

The NSCDC continues its efforts to combat illegal oil refining and theft, aiming to protect Nigeria’s vital oil resources and bring those responsible to justice.