10 December 2014, Lagos -The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Ogun State Command, has arrested four men for allegedly stealing petroleum product and selling same in a black market in the state.
The suspects ─ Adewumi Segun, Peace Ode, Festus Onosigbo and Edward Oghuvwu ─ were arrested at Area J4 in the Ijebu-East Local Government Area of the state.
The fourth suspect, Oghuvwu, was said to have escaped from the scene, but he was later re-arrested.
The state spokesman of the NSCDC, Kareem Olanrewaju, said the corps’ anti-vandal team on patrol with the men of Operation MESA stumbled on the suspects while they were dispensing the content of two tankers into jerrycans.
Olanrewaju said, “One of the drivers, Peace Ode, said he loaded the truck at Capital Oil in Apapa, Lagos, and was to deliver the content to a place in Enugu, but decided to sell some of it to one Adewumi Segun who is a petroleum black marketer at J4.”
The spokesman said the driver later dilluted the remaining content with water to make up for the quantity he dispensed.
Onosigbo denied knowledge of the deal, claiming that he joined his boss (driver) last Monday and that was the first trip since he started working with Ode.
Olanrewaju, however, said the culprits were making the excuses to cover up for their criminal activities.
He said, “Why should they discharge the Premium Motor Spirit meant to be delivered to a place in Enugu to a black marketer at area J4? Why should they dilute water with petroleum products?”
“The Commandant, Aboluwoye AKinwande, has directed the case be properly investigated. This, he said, would reveal the depth of their involvement in the matter.”
He added that items recovered from the suspects included two Mack trucks with number plates Delta; SKL 81 XA and Lagos-LND 956 XA, six telephones, different identity cards among others.
– The Punch