The Nigerian Navy yesterday declared that it arrested 52 suspected oil thieves in Bonny and Onne area of Rivers State.
It also impounded five vessels and two barges laden with automated gasoline oil from the suspects, who were apprehended on different dates.
Vessels impounded are MT Anino, MT Leadership, MT Mona, MT Rockfish and MT Blessed loaded with over 2,000 metric tonnes of AGO suspected to be stolen.
Performing the handover of some of the suspects and seized items to the EFCC and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for further investigations, the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Victor Adedipe, said that the navy had put that new strategies in place to deal with the problem of illegal bunkering in Bonny.
He explained that the suspects were arrested between March and July, 2017 within Onne and Bonny in Rivers State.
He said, “What has happened today is in line with the harmonised standard operating procedure for arrest, investigation and prosecution of suspects involved in criminalities within the maritime domain of Nigeria.”
“This is done with sister security agents that are stakeholders in ensuring that we put a final stop to these criminalities. These suspects were arrested by our various patrol teams on routine patrol.”
“What has happened now in the Nigerian Navy is an enhancement of the maritime domain capabilities, which enables us to see and know what is happening within the country’s maritime environment.”
“Once a vessel is suspected to be involved in any illegality, our patrol teams go after it and arrested it with the persons suspected to be involved in the crime. The vessels and the barges were carrying petroleum products.”
“Those products are illegally refined products. My message to those involved in oil theft is that they should stop forthwith because the Nigerian Navy will continue to go after them and will nip their plans to steal oil in the bud,” he added.
Receiving some of the suspects and vessels from the FOC, Eastern Naval Command, the Zonal Head EFCC, South-South Zone, Mr. Ishaq Salihu, stated that further investigations would be carried out by the commission with a view to also expose the sponsors behind the suspected oil thieves.
“This brief ceremony we had today showed the renewed efforts and vigour of security agencies in this country to collectively nip illegal oil bunkering and violent crimes on the seas in the bud and ensure that we have safer waterways for doing business in Nigeria.”
“We will now begin a thorough investigation, following the trail of the funds and their sponsors/sources because beyond these suspects, there are other people behind them.”
“It (oil theft) is becoming a recurrent decimal. You arrest some suspects today, you charge them to court; tomorrow, you see another set of people. EFCC will take the suspects on by investigating and charging them to court,” Salihu said.
The State Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Muhammed Lawal, in his comment pointed out that further investigation would be carried out by the corps while prosecution would also be done after investigation.
He said, “My next line of action is to carry on with further investigation of the suspects and prosecute them at the end of the investigation. The seized items would be shown as exhibit in the court.”
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