Navy seizes 35 vessels, destroys 827 illegal refinery sites in ten months

The Nigerian Navy’s Operation Delta Sanity has, since its launch in January 2024, seized 35 vessels, deactivated 827 illegal refinery sites, and arrested 65 suspects, saving Nigeria billions of naira in lost revenue in 2024.

Emmanuel Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff, revealed these successes while speaking at the University of Nigeria Nsukka’s 2024 Distinguished Personality Public Lecture, where he highlighted the Navy’s strategic role in safeguarding Nigeria’s valuable maritime resources.

Ogalla underscored the significant economic potential of Nigeria’s maritime assets, which include oil and gas reserves valued at around $40 billion with the potential to grow to an estimated $120 billion.

He pointed out that Nigeria’s maritime domain contains approximately 36 billion barrels of oil and 182 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.

If these resources are effectively protected and harnessed, Ogalla noted, they could provide a substantial boost to the country’s economy, helping to realize Nigeria’s blue economy ambitions.

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Ogalla also detailed the Navy’s broader strategies for maritime security, including the Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy (TSMS) and a core “Trinity of Action” involving surveillance, response capacity, and law enforcement.

These initiatives, he explained, are designed to counter a range of threats to Nigeria’s maritime domain, particularly oil theft and illegal refining.

The naval chief highlighted Operation Delta Sanity as a key success of these efforts, emphasizing its impact on curbing crude oil theft and disrupting illegal refining activities across Nigeria’s waters.

He, however, expressed concern over challenges slowing the prosecution of maritime crimes, which he argued could undermine the Navy’s hard-won successes.

To address this, he called for the establishment of Special Maritime Courts dedicated to expediting cases of maritime crime and enhancing justice delivery.

A statement from A. Adams-Aliu, the Navy’s Director of Naval Information, described the event as a historic moment for both the Navy and the academic community.

The lecture was well received, with Ogalla fielding questions from students eager to understand the Navy’s work in securing Nigeria’s economic future through maritime protection.