Beitrag vom 19.06.2025

Reuters

Nigerian Navy cracks down on oil theft, arrests 76 vessels in two years

By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA - The Nigerian Navy has arrested 76 vessels and at least 242 suspects in anti-oil theft operations, and destroyed more than 800 illegal refining sites during a two-year crackdown, it said on Thursday.

Rampant oil theft from pipelines and wells has crippled Nigeria's oil industry in recent years, damaging government finances and stifling exports.

Since June 2023, naval authorities have seized around 171,000 barrels of crude and millions of litres of illegally refined fuels from criminal networks, Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla said at a briefing in the capital Abuja.