Army Raids Oil Storage Facility, Intercepts Trucks with Stolen Crude
Ikechukwu Aleke in Abuja
The Nigerian Army yesterday said that troops of 6 Division uncovered a massive dump, where illegally refined products worth over 200,000 litres were stored across various locations in Bayelsa and Rivers States.
The Service noted that the discovery was made at Dasaba Creek, in Bayelsa State, where one illegal refining site, one oven and a massive metal reservoir containing products suspected to be stolen crude oil estimated at over 110, 000 litres were stored.
The Nigerian Army added that its troops deployed to Rivers State also uncovered over 33,000 litres being siphoned into a tank.
A statement by Acting Deputy Director 6 Division Army Public Relations, Lt Col. Danjuma Jonah, said the operation which was painstakingly conducted by troops, traced an interconnected hose to a tank from Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals pipeline, far behind the fence in the bush.
He noted that several items were also recovered from the sites. These include two pumping machines, long hose and eleven drums used to perpetrate criminality in the general area.
“Relatedly, troops of 63 Brigade, Nigerian Army, while on routine patrols, successfully intercepted trucks ladened with products suspected to be stolen crude in Delta State. The arrest was made at Seplat Energy Nigeria Ltd trunkline, Mosogar.
“During the operation, the truck was discovered to have over 30,000 litres of stolen products. The trucks have been handled in line with the subsisting mandate of OPDS in the NDR region.
“Similarly, troops of 16 Brigade, Nigerian Army, intercepted a truck with Reg No Delta UDH 983 XR along road Elebele-Emeyal in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
“The truck was also ladened with over 30,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude. Also, troops deployed at Cawthorne Channel 1, in conjunction with other security agencies successfully deactivated one illegal refining site with over 5500 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude,” he said.
Danjuma said the site was located close to Well Head 8, behind Glisten Community in Degema LGA, Rivers State.
He stated that the breakthroughs recorded was in addition to other seizures made within the general area, stressing that four suspects have so far been arrested along Udoni Obiafu in Onne LGA.
He said that the suspects were: Freedom Effiong, Behaviour Power, Timothy Onyebuchi and Loveth Ifeanyi. He also revealed that they will be handed over to relevant agencies for prosecution.
These feats, he said were results of the renewed effort by troops to effectively clampdown on economic saboteurs and their collaborators.
He however, enjoined the public to provide actionable intelligence on the activities of the economic saboteurs in their vicinity to security agencies.
