The Nigerian Army has discovered five reservoirs with 45,000 litres of crude oil in Odagwa Etche community, Etche local government area of Rivers State.
The General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigeria Army, Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdusalam, who was represented by the Commander of the 29 Battalion of the Division, Lt. Col. Ishaya Manga disclosed this on Wednesday.
He said, “Apart from these reservoirs, there are other cooking pots at various locations which we have also discovered. We have discovered five of these reservoirs which have about 45,000 litres of crude oil in each.
“We discovered oil wells where hose was illegally connected to the various reservoirs. From those reservoirs, the other ones were stocked in cellphone bags and sacks in their various camps for cooking.
“Some of the residents cook crude oil in their respective houses. So far, we have discovered five of the reservoirs which are filled with illegal crude oil and there are other empty ones.
“The operation is ongoing and we will continue to make further discoveries as soon as discoveries are made available and we will communicate to you so that the public will be informed.”
Manga said the discovery was in continuation of the series of ongoing operations conducted by the Division since February, targeted to destroy all the illegal refineries and operations of illegal oil bunkering and other forms of criminality.
He said, “There are other reservoirs that are in other places and that is why we brought you here so that you can communicate to the public what is going on.
“This is economic sabotage against the federal government and this has impacted negatively on the socio-economic activities as well as the health of the citizens and that is why we are here and we will continue to do our best to ensure that all the illegal refineries in this area are destroyed.”