*Arrest 1,590 oil criminal
31 December 2013, Abuja – The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, destroyed 813 illegal oil refineries and arrested over 1,590 oil-related criminal suspects in 2013, Dr Ade Abolurin, the Commandant-General, has said.
This is contained in a statement signed by CSC Okeh Emmanuel, the Corps’ Public Relations Officer, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
The statement said that 1,549 of the suspects were undergoing prosecution, while 44 had been convicted by a court of law.
It said that 176 suspects were also arrested for vandalising PHCN facilities, railway installations, telecommunication and water infrastructure.
According to the statement, items recovered from the suspects include transmission cables, water pipes, metal cables and PHCN amoured cables, amongst others.
It said that the corps had clamped down on kidnappers, illegal traffickers, terrorists, cyber criminals and operators of baby factories.
It added that the corps had also curbed the activities of vandals and illegal bunkerers.
The statement said the corps contributed toward the reduction of vandalism of critical infrastructure and national assets.
“It is our obligation to ensure safety of public infrastructure as the cost of replacement brings setback in economic development,’’ the statement quoted Abolurin as saying.
It called for partnership with stakeholders to protect the nation’s infrastructure. *NAN
