THE outgoing Flag Officer, Central Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Obinwanne Egbuchulam, has said the command denied crude oil thieves and operators of illegal refineries crude/petroleum products worth over N10bn. Egbuchulam, who disclosed this on the ocassion of the farewell ceremony held in his honour at Camp Porbeni, headquarters of the command in Yenagoa commended the officers and ratings for the successes recorded. Meanwhile the Navy has in the move to stop illegally shipment of refined petroleum products on waterways in Rivers State sets up new posts under its Operation River Dominance. NNS which intensified it operations in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of the state following the backing of the chairman of the LGA, Rowland Sekibo, said its operations was yielding positive results. This was happening as Sekibo, alongside his taskforce on illegal bunkering and security men destroyed seven artisanal refineries within the LGA.
Speaking during the operation at Abise creeks, the Base Operation Officer, NNS Pathfinder, Commander Umaru Abubakar, noted that OP River Dominance was conducted by the tactical riverine assault squadron of the base. He said that the operation has recorded more gains, adding that they have destroyed many bunkering sites in the LGA. Abubakar said “As you can see, we are gaining grounds as we are dismantling more illegal refining sites and the other simultaneous operations we are conducting, we have established riverine command post, and waterborne guard post within the waterways. The establishment of these posts has provided deterrence by denial, which means, it has denied freedom of action to the economic saboteurs by stopping from moving the illegal products. What is most pleasing, particularly today, or during the conduct of this is the level of synergy and cohesion by all participating agencies. It is my belief that that is the key enabler towards that attainment of our collective objective of fighting economic saboteurs in the state”.
The outgoing Flag officer Egbuchulam who spent 10 months and seventeen days as the CNC FOC said despite the considerable challenges, the command pursued the key priorities of the Chief of the Naval Staff’s Strategic Guidance and sustained its presence at the sea to secure the maritime environment for national prosperity. He said, “The Central Naval Command made many arrests of vessels and persons involved in piracy, oil pipeline vandalism, and crude oil theft. One recent remarkable arrest by the command was of MT TIS IV on December 6, 2021 with about 700,000 litres of stolen crude and a 17 -man crew, excluding 5 accomplices Also, the command denied crude oil thieves and operators of illegal refineries crude/petroleum products worth over N15billion.” He added that under his watch, “the command sustained clearance operations to deny pirates a foothold ashore. We also supported and motivated the personnel, but demanded a right attitude and a high standard of discipline from everyone just as we also made a priority collaboration with sister services/agencies and other stakeholders in the command’s area of responsibility, Egbuchulam noted.
He congratulated the incoming FOC, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, who according to him, is familiar with terrain and has the competence to assume the mantle of leadership of the command and enjoined the officers and men to accord him the support and cooperation to take the central naval command to greater heights. In his response, the new FOC, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, promised to sustain the fight against illegal oil bunkering, oil theft and other maritime crimes in the Niger Delta region. Abbas said: ” I have been part of the team so it is going to be a seamless transition. Whatever happened in the past I am part of it and will build on that. “We have been in the fore front of the fight and we are not going to stop. I’m only going to build on where my predecessor left in the fight against illegal bunkering and illegal refinery. We are going to continue the fight with new vigor.” He used the opportunity to warn oil thieves to stay clear of the command’s area of responsibility or have themselves to blame.
