BY Becky Usman
The Nigerian Navy has strongly refuted claims made by former Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo, alleging the involvement of military officials in oil theft activities within the region. Dokubo had recently visited President Bola Tinubu in Abuja, where he made these accusations.
Responding to the allegations, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, the Director of Naval Information, dismissed them as baseless and challenged Dokubo to substantiate his claims by revealing the names of those involved in such illicit activities.
Ayo-Vaughan further suggested that Dokubo’s motive behind these allegations was to gain favor with President Tinubu, rather than presenting any credible evidence.
The naval spokesperson, speaking to Channels Television, emphasized that the Nigerian Navy has been actively combating oil theft in the Niger Delta region through its Operation Dakata da Barawo. He highlighted recent successes, including the apprehension of the illegally-entered vessel Heroic Edun and subsequent court-imposed fines on its owners, as evidence of the Navy’s commitment to curbing crude oil theft.
Ayo-Vaughan listed additional achievements of the Nigerian Navy between April 1, 2022, and June 12, 2023, which included the arrest of 131 suspects and 17 vessels, the destruction of 519 illegal mining sites, the deactivation of 4,261 storage tanks, the confiscation of 569 wooden boats, and the immobilization of 69 vehicles.
He emphasized that the Navy’s efforts had resulted in the prevention of over 116.9 million liters of crude oil, 45.1 million liters of refined diesel, 2.4 million liters of kerosene, and 372,000 liters of premium motor spirit from falling into the hands of oil thieves. These prevented thefts were estimated to be worth more than N71.8 billion based on current prices.
Ayo-Vaughan firmly stated that the Nigerian Navy remained fully committed to combating crude oil theft and safeguarding the resources of the Niger Delta. He reiterated that if anyone had concrete evidence of a cabal involving military officers, they should present it and restated his challenge for Dokubo to provide names and substantiate his allegations.