Nigerian Navy Busts AGO Storage Facility in Rivers State

The Nigerian Navy has uncovered a warehouse containing approximately 10,000 litres of products suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in Rivers State.

The Director of Naval Information, Navy Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in an operational report on Sunday, stating that the raid exposed a suspected storage and distribution point within the illicit petroleum supply chain.

According to Folorunsho, the products were discovered during an anti-crude oil theft operation around the Eleme Express area of Rivers State. "The discovery was made by the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder on Saturday during a patrol of the Eleme–Okrika–Onne general area," he said. "The product, contained in 400 jerrycans of 25 litres each, was suspected to have been sourced from locations outside the immediate community and stored for onward sale to buyers. No illegal refining site was identified at the location."

He added that beyond the sheer volume recovered, the operation carried added significance for disrupting a critical link in the illicit petroleum supply chain, effectively denying operators a facility to accumulate and move illegally refined products to market — thereby constraining the broader commercial network sustaining illegal refining activities in the region.

Folorunsho said the recovered products were subsequently handled in line with established anti-crude oil theft procedures. He noted that no arrests were made, as the suspected operators fled the scene upon sighting the naval patrol team.