As a reinforcement of its commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s strategic oil and gas assets under Operation Delta Sentinel, the Nigerian Navy has thwarted an attempted act of crude oil theft targeting critical oil infrastructure at Oloma Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
A statement on Thursday, July 16, 2026 by the Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho disclosed that that incident happened on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at the Oloma Flow Station which is being operated by Renaissance African Energy Company Limited (RAEC).
According to the statement, personnel of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny intercepted an outboard engine-powered fibre boat close to a wellhead under suspicious circumstances during security patrols near the flow station.
He said the occupants abandoned the boat and fled on sighting the FOB patrol team.
A search of the boat by the naval operatives led to the recovery of equipment typically used for wellhead tampering and pipeline vandalism, including a portable generator, a cutting/grinding machine, chisels, spanners, cutlasses, and other accessories.
The items are believed to have been assembled to compromise the wellhead and siphon crude oil.
Follow-up operations, carried out with other security agencies, resulted in the arrest of one suspect connected to the attempted sabotage, while efforts continue to apprehend others involved in the criminal network.
The recovered fibre boat has been secured for further investigation.
Capt. Folorunsho stated that “this operation successfully prevented an attack on critical oil infrastructure, denying criminal elements the opportunity to inflict economic losses and environmental damage through acts of sabotage”.
He asserted that the “Nigerian Navy remains committed to intelligence-led operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL to protect critical national assets, combat crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, and deny economic saboteurs freedom of action within Nigeria’s maritime domain”.