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 The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in the past week uncovered and destroyed 34 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta. The NNPCL disclosed that it arrested no fewer than 20 persons in connection with the various cases of oil theft and pipeline vandalism last week. In a video released on Tuesday, the oil company stated that at 9:16 am on January 21, security agencies on surveillance patrol intercepted a large barge of Motor Vessel suspected to be used for illegal oil bunkering activities in the Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State. The barge, it said, “was intercepted in proximity to the Nigeria Agip oil pipeline”. From January 20 to 26, it was gathered that 47 wooden and fibre boats were intercepted and confiscated, while four vehicles were arrested in some Delta communities. “Between the 20th and 26th January, 176 incidences were recorded across the Niger Delta. 63 illegal connections were discovered across Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers States,” it was stated. The 34 illegal refineries were reportedly spotted in different communities in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Abia States.