The 6 Division, Nigerian Army, on Wednesday, said it uncovered a massive illegal refinery camp and seized five million litres of stolen crude oil stored in a reservoir in Rivers State.
The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdussalam, said the illegal refinery was uncovered along the Mirinwanyi channel of the Imo River in the Komkom area of the Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.
He said troops found about five million litres of stolen crude oil stored in a reservoir, adding that powerful people were behind oil theft, given the scale on which it was being perpetrated.
“I said it before that most of the arrest were labourers working on the site; we have not been able to get real culprits. We can see the facilities here. It is not something that ordinary persons can set up. It needs money, expertise and careful planning.
“So it is beyond the people we arrest. We are following several leads and we are hoping that those leads will take us to those, who are actually responsible,” the GOC said.
The new discovery is coming about a week after the military discovered about three millions of crude oil in an illegal refinery at Odagwa in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Describing the new discovery as sad, the GOC said the military would not rest on its oars in its quest to destroy all illegal refineries and illegal connections in its area of responsibility.
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