The Nigerian Navy has welcomed the conviction of nine persons by the Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, for crude oil theft, describing the judgment as a significant development in the fight against economic sabotage.
The nine convicts were sentenced on September 14, 2026, to five years’ imprisonment on Count One and 10 years on Count Two, without the option of a fine, according to a statement by the Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, on Wednesday.
The Navy said its personnel arrested the suspects on February 7, 2026, during an intelligence-led operation while they were allegedly stealing crude oil from an oil wellhead identified as ASABO-D in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
It said the conviction demonstrated the importance of effective prosecution and judicial determination in complementing enforcement operations against crude oil theft.
The development comes as the Navy sustains operations against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, its anti-crude oil theft operation.
According to the Navy, the operation, launched in January 2026, has dismantled more than 241 illegal refining sites, disrupted criminal networks, recovered over 6.44 million litres of suspected stolen crude oil and illegally refined petroleum products, and led to the arrest of more than 230 suspects.
The Service said the operations were aimed at protecting critical national infrastructure and supporting energy security.
It attributed the renewed operational efforts to the leadership of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, particularly his emphasis on intelligence-led operations, inter-agency collaboration and enhanced maritime domain awareness.
The Navy said the efforts were also in line with the Federal Government’s policy of increasing crude oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day by 2027.
The Service stressed that successful interdictions would have greater impact when they resulted in timely convictions, which it said would strengthen deterrence against crude oil theft.
The Navy commended the judiciary for the judgment and the Department of State Services for what it described as professionalism in seeing the case through to conclusion.
It also called for accelerated adjudication of pending crude oil theft cases, saying this would strengthen accountability and efforts to protect the country’s oil and gas resources.
The Navy warned individuals, groups and organised criminal networks involved in crude oil theft and related activities to desist, saying the latest conviction showed that perpetrators could not rely on the remoteness of oil-producing communities, waterways or oil installations to evade justice.
It also appealed to law-abiding citizens and host communities to provide credible information on activities threatening critical oil and gas infrastructure.
The Service said it would sustain operations against crude oil theft and other forms of economic sabotage while strengthening collaboration with the judiciary, other security agencies and relevant stakeholders to protect Nigeria’s maritime domain and oil and gas infrastructure.
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