NNS Delta commander intensifies fight against oil theft
The Nigerian Navy has appointed a new commander for Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta, and the message from Warri is direct: the battle against crude oil theft and allied criminality will be sustained and intensified.
At a brief handover ceremony held at the NNS Delta Command in Warri on Friday, Commodore Shehu Tasiu formally assumed office as the new commander, taking over from Commodore Abdulahi Zubairu. The event was witnessed by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Suleiman Ibrahim, a presence that underscored both institutional oversight and operational urgency. 
In his first public remarks after taking command, Tasiu pledged that all efforts would be made to sustain the mandate of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, in protecting national assets in the region. He also signalled continuity in the Navy’s posture across Delta territorial waters, where oil theft, illegal bunkering, and related crimes remain a major threat to Nigeria’s revenue and security. 
This is the context behind today’s headline: New NNS Delta commander vows to intensify fight against oil theft. It is not just a ceremonial line, but a statement about operational priorities in one of Nigeria’s most sensitive energy corridors.
A vow tied to a wider security mission
The new commander’s vow comes at a time the Navy has been pushing multiple initiatives to tighten maritime security and keep sustained pressure on economic saboteurs. Over the past year, naval units and formations operating within the Niger Delta have repeatedly reported the dismantling of illegal refining sites and seizures of stolen crude and petroleum products, often driven by intelligence and coordinated patrols. 
The Navy has also launched broader operational frameworks against crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, including a named anti-crude theft drive intended to reinforce ongoing efforts and strengthen maritime enforcement. 
Against that backdrop, New NNS Delta commander vows to intensify fight against oil theft reads as an attempt to assure stakeholders that NNS Delta will not slow down, even as leadership changes hands.
Stakeholders, communities, and private security: the “new approach” hint
Commodore Tasiu said he would “key into” the CNS mandate through partnerships with stakeholders, a phrase that matters in the Niger Delta. He promised to sustain synergy with private security outfits and called on host communities to supply the Navy with useful information to protect critical assets. 
This is where the public usually wants clarity. Oil theft in the region is rarely a lone-actor crime. It often thrives on local knowledge of creeks and routes, gaps in surveillance, and the ability to move stolen products quickly. So when New NNS Delta commander vows to intensify fight against oil theft, the practical meaning is likely to include three things:
1. tighter patrol patterns and response time in identified hotspots
2. more intelligence-led operations based on community tip-offs
3. firmer coordination with private security and other security agencies operating around critical assets
The Navy has already signalled a sustained push to protect “critical assets” through exercises and deployments in the Niger Delta maritime environment, and that wider posture provides a useful frame for what NNS Delta is expected to do under new leadership. 
Who is Commodore Shehu Tasiu?
https://ogelenews.ng/nns-delta-commander-intensifies-fight-against-oil-t…
The Navy’s choice of commander is not random. Before his appointment, Tasiu served as the Base Operations Officer of the command and also as Commanding Officer of the Forward Operating Base (FOB), Escravos. That résumé matters because FOB Escravos sits close to a corridor where illegal refining and crude oil theft have historically posed repeated enforcement challenges. 
In other words, the officer now leading NNS Delta is coming into the job with operational familiarity of the terrain, the pattern of criminality, and the stakes for host communities.
The stakes: money, environment, and credibility
Oil theft is not only a security issue. It is economic sabotage with ripple effects. When crude is stolen or pipelines are tampered with, the result is often a mix of revenue loss, operational disruption, and environmental damage that can devastate livelihoods in riverine communities. That is why today’s promise has political weight too: New NNS Delta commander vows to intensify fight against oil theft at a time Nigerians are demanding more visible results from security spending and stronger protection of national assets.
Security chiefs across services have repeatedly pointed to pipeline vandalism and oil theft as threats to economic stability, and recent high-level operational visits and public messaging from the security establishment have echoed the same concern: protect infrastructure, deny saboteurs space, and boost stability. 
What to watch next
The immediate test of this new command will not be speeches. It will be operational outcomes. Residents and industry stakeholders will be looking for evidence that New NNS Delta commander vows to intensify fight against oil theft translates into tangible steps: more interdictions, stronger deterrence, quicker response to intelligence, and improved cooperation without compromising professionalism.
Equally important is the relationship with communities. The commander has already requested intelligence support from host communities. The next stage will be building trust so residents feel safe reporting criminal activity, and ensuring that enforcement actions are consistent, lawful, and focused on the actual networks driving the theft economy.
For now, the signal from Warri is clear: New NNS Delta commander vows to intensify fight against oil theft, and the Navy is presenting the leadership change as continuity with sharper intent, not a pause.
https://punchng.com/new-nns-delta-commander-vows-to-intensify-fight-against-oil-theft
NNS Delta commander intensifies fight against oil theft
