Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, says it has impounded a truck laden with 45,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, popularly known as diesel, and arrested eight suspected oil thieves in Bayelsa State.
Parading the suspects at the NSCDC headquarter in Yenagoa, NSCDC Commandant in Bayelsa State, Edenabu Eweka, said the eight suspects were arrested in two separate operations within the last one week.
Eweka disclosed that three of the suspects were arrested at an illegal refinery site at Kolo in Ogbia Local Government Area, LGA, of the state, with the tanker already filled with illegally refined AGO.
He explained that in the second operation on February 11, 2024, five suspected vandals were caught in the act at Krokrosei-Azuzuama pipeline in Southern Ijaw LGA in Bayelsa.
He said, “Of these five suspects, four were identified to be suspected vandals while one is a buyer of the stolen crude.
“Our anti oil theft and vandalism operations have paid off with the arrest of three suspects with 45,000 litres of illegally refined AGO.
“This goes to send a strong signal to all those involved in oil theft and vandalism that the NSCDC will not give them a space to operate the illicit acts in Bayelsa. We shall take them to court and prosecute them diligently,” Eweka said.
The Bayelsa State NSCDC boss further stated that the Corps, an environmentally responsible organisation, prefers to seize the products and have them forfeited to the federal government on conviction of suspects.
Eweka noted that setting seized products ablaze would further degrade the environment.
