The Nigerian Navy and the Federal Government Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft have uncovered a 40,000-litre-capacity illegal refinery in the creeks of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The facility was discovered during a joint operation based on actionable intelligence coordinated through the Joint Intelligence Monitoring Team, which comprises personnel from various security and intelligence agencies.

Speaking to journalists in Bonny on Friday, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base, Bonny, Captain Stanley Umeh, described the discovery as the biggest his team had made since he assumed command in March 2026.

Umeh said naval gunboats transported the operatives into the creeks, after which they trekked through dense vegetation before reaching the concealed facility.

He said the discovery was the result of sustained collaboration between the Navy and other security and intelligence agencies.

According to Umeh, the facility had not yet commenced full-scale refining, but its structure indicated that it was being prepared to process large quantities of stolen crude oil.

He said the operation had effectively disrupted the facility before it became fully operational, describing the development as a boost to efforts to combat crude oil theft and increase Nigeria’s crude oil production.

The Navy commander assured residents of Bonny that the force would intensify surveillance and patrols across the waterways and remote areas of the local government.

Also speaking, the Head of Investigation of the Special Prosecution Team of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Theft, Omar John Sini, said the operation demonstrated the importance of intelligence-sharing and cooperation among security and law-enforcement agencies.

Sini said the task force, established by the Federal Government in March 2025, had secured at least 137 convictions for offences linked to illicit activities in the country’s hydrocarbon sector.

He disclosed that three suspects allegedly linked to the financing of the illegal refinery had been arrested and were in custody.

Sini said the suspects were believed to have invested millions of naira in setting up the facility before security agencies disrupted the operation.

He added that the authorities would handle the illegal refinery in accordance with the law and prosecute those found responsible.

The latest operation forms part of continuing efforts by Nigerian security agencies to disrupt crude oil theft and illegal refining activities, particularly in the oil-producing communities and waterways of the Niger Delta.