65 Battalion Cracks Lagos Oil Theft Ring, Arrests Six as Army Moves to Choke Illegal Bunkering Network

LAGOS — Troops of the 65 Battalion, Nigerian Army, have dealt another blow to crude oil theft and economic sabotage, dismantling a suspected illegal bunkering site in the Orile General Area of Lagos State, arresting six suspects, and recovering vehicles and petroleum products believed to have been used in the illicit operation.

The intelligence-driven operation, carried out on July 16, 2026, was launched after security agencies received credible information on the activities of suspected economic saboteurs operating within the area.

Acting on the intelligence, the troops stormed the location in a carefully coordinated raid, catching the suspects off guard and shutting down the illegal operation before it could continue.

Military authorities disclosed that six suspected operators were arrested during the raid, while troops recovered four drums, two of which contained suspected illegally refined petroleum products.

Security forces also impounded a white Ford bus and one tanker, both believed to have played key roles in transporting or supporting the illegal bunkering activities.

The arrested suspects, alongside the recovered exhibits, were formally handed over by the Commanding Officer of 65 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel S. Adeojo, to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Lagos State Command, for further investigation and prosecution.

Commending the operation, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Adebayo Babalola, described the successful raid as another demonstration of the Army’s determination to protect Nigeria’s critical economic assets and dismantle criminal networks threatening the nation’s energy sector.

He said the operation underscores the Division’s resolve to deny oil thieves, illegal bunkerers and other economic saboteurs safe operating space within the 81 Division Area of Responsibility, stressing that intelligence-led operations would continue across strategic locations.

The GOC urged troops to sustain the operational tempo against criminal syndicates while calling on residents to strengthen collaboration with security agencies by providing timely and credible intelligence capable of preventing economic crimes.

The latest operation adds to a series of intensified military actions aimed at disrupting illegal petroleum activities, curbing revenue losses and protecting vital national infrastructure as security agencies tighten the noose around oil theft networks across the country.