Troops from the 65 Battalion of the Nigerian Army have arrested six individuals suspected of oil bunkering in the Orile General area of Lagos State.
The operation, reported by local media on Wednesday, targets the illicit trade that continues to undermine Nigeria’s formal energy sector and revenue streams.
The arrests in Lagos follow a series of high-profile seizures elsewhere in the country, signaling a broadened security effort against illegal fuel distribution.
In recent weeks, Nigerian security forces have impounded a truck carrying 45,000 litres of adulterated Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in Anambra State, while the Nigerian Navy intercepted a vessel with 650 metric tonnes of stolen crude oil in the Niger Delta.
Illegal bunkering remains a persistent challenge for Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer.
The illicit trade diverts significant volumes of crude and refined products from the formal market, reducing government revenues and complicating supply chain stability.
While these enforcement actions demonstrate political will to curb the practice, the scale of the underground economy suggests that isolated arrests are unlikely to resolve the structural issues overnight.