The renewed crackdown against oil thieves and pipeline vandals in Nigeria paid off handsomely in Port Harcourt, Rivers state last weekend with the arrest of about 120 suspects by the combined operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Army.
The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest in a statement released to newsmen in the city. He said the suspects were arrested for alleged illegal oil bunkering in a joint operation conducted by the personnel of the anti-graft agency and the 6 Division Garrison, Nigerian Army Port Harcourt in Rivers State.
The suspected oil thieves, according to the EFCC statement, were arrested last Saturday, 13 August, 2022. They are believed to have illegally refined stolen petroleum products and off-loaded into vehicles at the waterfronts for onward movement into the hinterland and possibly outside the country.
Full text of the EFCC read: Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Port Harcourt Zonal Command, have arrested one hundred and twenty suspects for alleged illegal oil bunkering in a joint operation with personnel of the 6 Division Garrison, Nigerian Army Port Harcourt.
They were arrested on Saturday, August 13, 2022 at Ndoni, Rivers State where suspected illegally refined stolen petroleum products are off-loaded into vehicles at the waterfronts for distribution within and outside Rivers State.
The arrest of the suspects was made possible by intelligence on the alleged illegal oil bunkering activities in the locality.
In the course of the arrest, 8 vehicles and pumping machines were recovered. The suspects will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
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