The Nigerian army’s 6 Division has arrested 17 alleged oil thieves and shut down nine illegal refining sites across the Niger Delta region this week.

According to The Punch, the Nigerian army reported that more than 45,000 litres of stolen petroleum products had been recovered during the 12-day operation.

Acting deputy director of 6 Division Army Public Relations, Jonah Danjuma, noted that the action was taken in conjunction with numerous other security agencies.

“In Delta State, around Ogwu Community in Warri South Local Government Area, troops discovered a metal storage facility containing over 20,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil, three pumping machines, three metering machines, and 25 litres of engine oil,” he said.

Other items included two empty tanks and a 20,000-litre capacity tanker truck with registration number BEN 223 ZW (Edo State), loaded with over 10,000 litres of illegally refined AGO,” Danjuma highlighted.

In Bayelsa State, troops uncovered two illegal refining sites and three dugout pits containing over 7,000 litres of stolen products, “which were appropriately destroyed,” he said, adding that at Okordia in Yenagoa LGA, a Toyota Camry loaded with over 600 litres of AGO was intercepted.

Among a list of numerous other regions, Danjuma also underscored Rivers State, noting that items recovered there included a 250-metre hose, three-inch metal pipes, and six sacks containing 300 litres of illegally refined AGO.

In April, Nigeria’s Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) called on the Nigerian government to provide locals in areas associated with illegal refining and oil theft with better opportunities following an explosion that killed four people that month.

The organisation continued to recommend that the government legalise ‘artisanal’ (illegal) refineries in the Niger Delta by introducing the proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) (or the Modular Refineries for artisanal Refiners in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region initiative). According to YEAC, such initiatives could “mitigate incidents of this nature” in the future and would lead to better outcomes for all.