The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Task Force on Petroleum/Illegal Bunkering (IGP-STFPIB) has arrested 42 suspects involved in oil theft.
The task force also impounded 41 trucks, 13 vehicles while a total of 1,057,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), 30,000 litres of Low Pour Furl Oil (LPFO), 75,000 litres of Crude oil and 9,900 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) have been recovered from oil thieves between 2021 till date.
According to a statement on Wednesday by Acting Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, 21 of the arrested suspects have been charged to court with 17 still under investigation while four convictions have been secured in court. The police is also awaiting the final forfeiture of 14 tankers and four cars to the Federal Government of Nigeria, with six cases pending in various Federal High Court Branches across the federation.
The statement noted that the giant strides were achieved in Rivers State and some other parts of the country, “sequel to the unrelenting pragmatic and sustained fight against economic sabotage collectively by the federal government, and the Inspector-General of Police. The collective efforts have assisted in the fight against bunker traders and purveyors of adulterated petroleum products within the country.”
Some of the suspects paraded by include a 31-year-old Rabiu Halidu from Katsina State, 30-year-old Michael Okoro from Rivers State, 50-year-old Arinze Eze from Enugu State.
Others are 22-year-old Lukman Musa from Kogi State, 18-year-old Sefiu Ibrahim from Kano State, and 25-year-old Nura Isiaku from Kaduna State. The statement adds that the trio of Lukman, Sefiu and Nura hid drums of crude oil in a truck stacked with sacks of fertilizer. They however ran out of luck upon thorough stop and search by an operational team of the IGP-STFPIB.
According to the PRO, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to maintain a sustained fight against illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism, economic saboteurs, and other criminal elements in the country.
The police boss also commended the efforts of the commander and his team for their diligence even as he called for frequent operational patrols in a bid to curb the activities of incessant activities of illegal bunker traders and economic saboteurs. “The IGP equally charged officers and men of the force to be committed, patriotic and focussed on their statutory duties of preventing crimes, and protection of lives and property in line with extant laws of the land,” the statement adds.
