OPERATIVES of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps
have destroyed 12 illegal refineries in Amambo Kiri community in Okrika Local
Government Area of Rivers State.
The operatives also arrested two suspects involved in
pipeline vandalism in one of the areas where some of the illegal refineries
were located.
Parading the suspects on Friday at the NSCDC command in Port
Harcourt, the Rivers State Commandant of the Corps, Mr. Mohammed Haruna, said
most of the oil thieves, who saw his men advancing to the illegal refining
points, took to their heels.
Haruna, who identified the suspects as Kingley Mena and
Awari Mena, expressed dissatisfaction with communities supporting the
activities of oil thieves in the state and warned that those shielding
criminals would not be spared by NSCDC.
He observed that illegal oil bunkerers had started to use
gas to refine stolen crude oil, adding that the outcry over the pollution of
the environment could have informed their action.
The Commandant noted that apart the illegal refineries that
were destroyed, some installations in the bush were set ablaze by the corps
operatives.
“Some Community members are in the habit of shielding oil
thieves. NSCDC will not tolerate that and will arrest and bring to book those
harbouring criminals.
“As we keep telling them about the issue of bunkering in
Rivers State, the state and federal governments both have good programmes that
can sustain anybody in his community. The best thing for them is to key into
these government policies.
“This is necessary to ensure that they leave the creeks so
that they can be integrated into the society. Pipeline vandalism does not help
anybody. As long as they are in the creeks and vandalising pipelines, they will
be caught. Those who are not caught will be caught one day,” Haruna warned.
He said the two suspects would be prosecuted and if found
wanting at the end of investigation, adding that his aim was to reduce
incidents of oil theft in the state to a bearable level.
He said, “On the two suspects that were arrested, what we
will do now is to carry out further investigation and charge them to court. We
intend to reduce illegal oil bunkering to the minimum level in no distant
time.”
Haruna cautioned that those who believed that Rivers State
would be a haven for oil bunkering should begin to have a rethink, maintaining
that sponsors of such illicit business would be dealt with no matter how highly
placed they might be in the society.
0 Comments