By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Nigerian Navy has foiled an attempt to reactivate an illegal refining site in Rivers State, while recovering approximately 350 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, during an operation in the Okolomade general area of Abua/Odual Local Government Area.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Director Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho.
The operation by NNS SOROH on 6 September 2026 followed credible intelligence on the reactivation of illegal refining activities in the area. Suspected operators fled on sighting the naval team, leaving behind the illegally refined product and two wheelbarrows believed to have been used in its movement.
In a related operation, the Base revisited a previously disrupted illegal refining site in the Ogbogolo area and rendered remaining metallic ovens, storage tanks and associated infrastructure unusable, effectively closing avenues for their further exploitation by criminal operators.
According to the statement, the interventions demonstrate a shift from merely disrupting illegal refining activities to denying operators the infrastructure required to repeatedly revive their operations, thereby constraining the resilience of illicit petroleum networks in the area.
