Metro

Army Uncovers 3m Litres Of Stolen Oil In Rivers

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2024

The 6 Division, Nigeria Army, Port Harcourt, has uncovered 14 crude oil reservoirs containing about three million litres of stolen crude in Odagwa Etche in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Also, the Army said the reservoir has 49 boilers used in refining stolen crude in the area, which is then moved out through various channels.

The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigeria Army, Port Harcourt, Maj-Gen. Jamal Abdussalam, while conducting newsmen around the reservoirs located in the thick forest of Odagwa Etche on Thursday, said his decision to bring the journalists to the scene was for them to see things for themselves so that Nigerians will know what is happening.

Abdusalam disclosed that through credible intelligence, officers of the division were able to discover about 14 reservoirs that contained upward of about 200,000 litres of crude oil inside the forest.

Abdusalam said the suspects constructed various tanks and used hoses and cables to connect crude oil from abandoned wellheads located within the area.

He said, “You can see that this place is in a deep forest. Even if you are using helicopters and military drones, you will not be able to see what we actually saw here on the ground. We have discovered based on credible intelligence which led us to this location.

“We have discovered many illegal activities. As you can see, we have seen reservoirs that can contain upwards of 200, 0000 litres of crude oil.

‘We have discovered about 14 of them in this bush. We have also discovered boilers capable of processing crude oil about 49 of them all located inside this bush and we have seen the network of hoses and cables connected around the whole area.”

He added, “The crude oil we have discovered in this place is in excess of the daily crude oil export of Nigeria. This is very pathetic and very sad to note.

“Here, we discovered 14 reservoirs and each reservoir stored a minimum of 200,000 litres of crude oil. So simple math will give you in excess of three million litres of crude oil that is stored. We are not talking of the ones that have been processed and taken out; these are the ones that we have discovered.

“This place is called Odagwa in Rivers State and inside this place we have well heads, many of them we don’t know the exact number of well heads around here.”

The GOC added that “most of them are not in use, but you can see that it’s from these well heads that these people put their pipes to siphon this oil. Few arrests have been made however, those that we have arrested are not the major players in this business, they are just carriers of the stolen oil.”

He said the discovery was part of the Army’s efforts to ensure that the government gets what is due to it.

“The budget has been sent by Mr President to the National Assembly and the National Assembly has passed it into law and the executive has also signed it and it has become law.

“That budget was planned based on some parameters. One of the parameters is the crude oil production we churn out every day. So any drop in crude oil production affects everybody in this country.

“Our people are not aware of that and that is why they are involved in this type of business,” he explained.

Related Topics:illegal refineries refineries Refinery

Up Next

Protest Rocks Nasarawa Over Supreme Court’s Judgment On Gov Poll

Don't Miss

Govt Arrests Husband As Pregnant Wife Faints After Assault

Comments

Metro

Nigerian Army Suspends Statutory, Voluntary Retirement For Specific Officers

Published

2 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Army has announced the indefinite suspension of all statutory and voluntary retirements for specific categories of officers.

According to an internal memo dated 3 December 2025, signed by Major General E. I. Okoro on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, this is in response to the nationwide security emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu.

Okoro explained that the measure is intended to preserve manpower, expertise, and operational readiness while the Armed Forces rapidly expand to tackle the escalating insecurity across Nigeria.

Citing the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers (HTACOS) 2024, the document pointed out that officers normally retire upon reaching the prescribed age for their rank, completing 35 years of service, or after repeated failures in promotion or conversion processes.

However, Paragraph 3.10(e) permits service extensions when it is in the interest of the military.

“Military service of a commissioned officer entails a period of unbroken service in the AFN from the date of enlistment or commissioning to the date of retirement. The period of service is determined by conditions enshrined in the HTACOS Officers 2024. These include attainment of age ceilings on various ranks, 35 years maximum length of service, and other criteria provided in Paragraphs 11.02(d) and 17.15, among extant regulations,” the memo partly read.

“Notwithstanding these provisions, Chapter 3.10(e) of HTACOS Officers 2024 allows for extension of service to officers in the interest of the service.

“The President and Commander-in-Chief declared a nationwide security emergency on November 26, mandating the expansion of the AFN and other security agencies. In line with this, and to rapidly expand manpower, it has become expedient to temporarily suspend all statutory and voluntary retirements from the Nigerian Army with immediate effect.”

According to the memo, the suspension affects Army officers in the following categories: Those who have failed promotion examinations three times, those passed over for promotion three times, those who have reached the age ceiling for their current rank, those who have failed conversion boards three times and those who have completed 35 years of service.

It explained that affected officers who wish to remain in service may apply for an extension beyond their original retirement dates.

However, the memo clarified that: “Officers in these categories who are not interested in extension of service are to continue with the normal retirement procedure. Officers desirous of extension should note that upon extension, they are not eligible for career progression, including promotion, career courses, NA sponsorship, self-sponsored courses, secondment, or extra-regimental appointments.”

Metro

NDLEA Seizes 7.6m Tramadol Pills, 76,273kg Cannabis In Nationwide Raids

Published

3 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced the seizure of more than 7.6 million tramadol pills and 76,273 kilograms of cannabis strains in coordinated operations across several states, with multiple suspects arrested.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the seizures were made during intelligence-led raids between 1 and 6 December.

In Delta State, operatives recovered 3,874,000 tramadol pills and 252.2 litres of codeine syrup from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba. In Imo State, 1.2 million tramadol tablets were intercepted from a vehicle driven by 35-year-old Kelechi Nwakocha along the Onitsha-Owerri road.

In Adamawa, officers stopped a Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Jos to Mubi with 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol and exol-5 tablets concealed in jumbo bags mixed with footwear. Two suspects, Kabiru Buba, 25, and Hamza Abubakar, 32, were arrested. Another suspect, Mudansir Rabiu, 27, was apprehended in Kano with 197,000 exol-5 pills.

In Ekiti, NDLEA destroyed 14,654 kilograms of skunk in Omuo forest and 54,300 kilograms in warehouses at Asin-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government Area. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the operations. In Ondo, 5,442 kilograms of skunk were seized in Igoba forest, Akure North, with five suspects taken into custody.

Further arrests were made in Niger State, where 500 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a van along Mokwa-Jebba road, and in Abuja, where 22 kilograms of synthetic cannabis known as Colorado were intercepted at Abaji expressway. A follow-up operation at Jabi park led to the arrest of a female receiver, Ali Blessing, 33. Another suspect, Aliyu Usman, 39, was arrested with 24 kilograms of skunk and 573,500 exol-5 pills along Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway.

In Lagos, 113 kilograms of Canadian Loud were recovered from Ezenwa Udoka at Ladipo market, while Izuchukwu Usulor was arrested with 351 kilograms of skunk in Onipanu. Susan Okoro was also arrested with 104.1 kilograms at Trade Fair complex, Ojo. In Edo, 447.5 kilograms of skunk were seized from two vehicles in Agho forest, Akoko Edo, and 315.8 kilograms were recovered from a warehouse in Isiefve community, Ohuwunde Local Government Area.

The Agency confirmed that sensitisation activities under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative continued during the week in schools, worship centres and communities across Kano, Benue and Rivers States.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved.

“Their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated,” he said.
The Agency stated that investigations are ongoing and suspects will be prosecuted accordingly.