Over the weekend, men from the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Igbokoda, Ondo State, intercepted and destroyed 15,775 litres of stolen crude oil in the state’s Ilaje axis.
Captain Wasuku Alushi, the base’s Commanding Officer, assessed the worth of the items at N13,251,000 and claimed the operation was carried out by the anti-Crude Oil Theft (COT) patrol squad.
The products were destroyed in compliance with the mission of the joint team Operation Delta Safe on COT, according to Commander Humphrey Nnaji, who spoke on behalf of Alushi.
He emphasized that the team had obtained intelligence on illegal bunkering within the axis, after which a crude oil-laden wooden boat known as a “Cotonou” was followed and intercepted.
“The wooden boat was intercepted about 12 nautical miles (NM) off the coast of the adjoining Ojumole and Obe communities in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. On sighting naval personnel, the crew abandoned the boat and fled,” he said.
While reiterating the commitment of the base to stamp out the menace of COT and other crimes in Igbokoda and its environs, he maintained that the base will intensify surveillance within the axis.
