{"id":1296,"date":"2026-06-05T16:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/?p=1296"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:08:14","slug":"troops-uncover-illegal-crude-oil-refinery-hidden-inside-rivers-forest-recover-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/troops-uncover-illegal-crude-oil-refinery-hidden-inside-rivers-forest-recover-equipment\/","title":{"rendered":"Troops Uncover Illegal Crude Oil Refinery Hidden Inside Rivers Forest, Recover Equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Troops of the Joint Task Force South-South, Operation Delta Safe, have uncovered an illegal crude oil refining site concealed within the Orashi National Forest in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The discovery was made during a coordinated anti-bunkering operation carried out on June 3 by personnel of the 16 Brigade, Garrison, and 5 Battalion, according to military sources.<\/p>\n

Security analyst Zagazola Makama, citing military authorities, disclosed that the illegal facility was deeply hidden within the forest reserve and actively used for unauthorized crude oil processing before it was dismantled.<\/p>\n

During the raid, troops recovered several items used in refining operations, including two large drum ovens, two coolant systems, two receiver containers, and two waste pits.<\/p>\n

They also discovered a 100-metre galvanized pipeline allegedly used to support the illegal refining activities within the camp.<\/p>\n

Military sources confirmed that the equipment was recovered and handled in line with operational procedures under Operation Delta Safe.<\/p>\n

The operation forms part of ongoing military efforts to curb crude oil theft, dismantle illegal refining camps, and protect oil and gas infrastructure across the Niger Delta region.<\/p>\n

Authorities noted that illegal bunkering continues to cause significant economic losses and environmental degradation in oil-producing communities.<\/p>\n

Security forces assured that surveillance and clearance operations will continue across the region as efforts intensify to identify and destroy other illegal refining sites and criminal networks involved in oil theft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Troops of the Joint Task Force South-South, Operation Delta Safe, have uncovered an illegal crude oil refining site<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro","category-cover"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2.jpg",750,536,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2-300x214.jpg",300,214,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2.jpg",640,457,false],"large":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2.jpg",640,457,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2.jpg",750,536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2.jpg",750,536,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2.jpg",750,536,false],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Navy-Destroys-Illegal-Crude-Refining-Site-In-River-2-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Publisher"]},"category_info":"Metro<\/a> Cover<\/a>","tag_info":"Cover","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1296"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1298,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1296\/revisions\/1298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}