A total of 26 accused oil thieves have been apprehended by Nigerian Navy personnel.
A vessel on the Navy’s watch list, the MT Queen of Peace, has also been seized, along with a long wooden boat and a tug boat.
Seven of the alleged oil thieves were Beninoise, according to the Navy’s spokeswoman, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, in a statement released on Thursday.
He stated that 21 of the suspects, as well as a vessel and a wooden boat, were captured during Exercise Obangame, which was recently launched by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo.
Five suspected oil thieves were arrested by the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder at the Naval Base in Port Harcourt and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The statement read, “On Day 5 of the exercise, the Nigerian Navy arrested MT Queen of Peace, a vessel of interest for over a year.
“The vessel was last sighted at the Trans Amadi Jetty in Port Harcourt, before she switched off her Automatic Identification System and proceeded on three weeks of unknown activities but was successfully intercepted South West of Bonny Fair Way Buoy on March 15, 2022.
“The dark activities of the vessel were monitored by the Nigerian Navy Falcon Eye Surveillance System and Nigerian Navy Ship Ekulu was detached from the Exercise Obangame to intercept and arrest the vessel.
“Subsequent interrogation revealed that the vessel with 14 crew members onboard was laden with an unspecified quantity of crude oil.
“Additionally, the vessel was unable to provide appropriate documentation from the point of loading as well as documents and authority of her intended operations. These therefore led to the arrest of the vessel and she is currently at Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base Bonny for further investigation and possible hand-over for prosecution.
“Exercise Obangame Express 2022 has also seen the arrest of seven Beninoise in a long wooden boat fully loaded with unspecified petroleum products from questionable sources.
“Meanwhile, as part of the relentless effort of the Nigerian Navy in fighting maritime illegalities, Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder at Naval Base Port Harcourt also arrested and handed over five suspected oil thieves with a diesel – laden barge and a tug boat to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on 14 March 2022. ”