Navy Burns Down Over 40 Illegal Refineries In Warri

By Andah John

More than 40 illegal refineries were on Tuesday set ablaze by the Nigerian Navy through its Navy Ship (NNS) DELTA.

The refineries, it was gathered, were earlier uncovered in Jones Creek, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta state.

Commander of the NNS DELTA, Commodore Ibrahim Dewu, made this known to newsmen at the Warri Naval Command shortly after the operation.

Why the refineries were burnt

Dewu disclosed that the suspected crude oil was burnt to prevent the offenders from returning to evacuate the product.

“Burning illegal refineries with the crude was our last option so that the people will not come back and evacuate them.

“However, they cannot even evacuate them because it is in a very large quantity.

“My concern and worry is the effect this illegal acts are causing on the environment.

“We are going to sustain thi operation so that we will be able to stop all these illegal activities within the creeks in line with the directive of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS).

“This will enable the people in the communities to live a normal life because as we speak, aquatic life has been destroyed because the environment is polluted,” the commander said.

Recall that illegal refineries and over 200 tanks carrying over 10,000 litres each were uncovered by the navy on 9 February, 2017.