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| File Photo: an oil bunkering site |
The Nigerian
Army says it has uncovered a massive illegal oil bunkering site located one
kilometre on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) road in Port Harcourt. The site
is also 2kms away from the Rivers State Government House.
Brig.-Gen.
Stevenson Olabanji, the Commander of 2 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Port
Harcourt, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Port Harcourt
that thousands of litres of illegally refined diesel were discovered at the
site.
He said
that army operatives were immediately deployed to the site at Makoba Beach,
which is two kms. away from the Rivers State Government House.
“About
16:40 hours on Monday, we got an information that some illegal bunkering
activities were going on along Makoba Beach.
“On
arrival, our personnel discovered illegal activities which involved bunkering
of illegally refined petroleum products and lifting of diesel to local boats.
“At the
site, we found more than 5,000 drums loaded with illegally refined diesel; four
tanker trucks containing 132,000 litres of diesel combined, and a barge with
165,000 litres of stolen diesel.
“This
discovery is unprecedented because since we started our operations 10 days ago,
this is about the biggest that we have uncovered.”
Olabanji
said that additional 150 drums, loaded with about 3,150 litres of diesel, were
also discovered in 21 Cotonou boats.
He said
that 13 suspects were arrested at the scene of the illegal activity.
He said
that the illegal bunkering dump had not yet been set ablaze, in line with the
Joint Task Force mandate, because of its closeness to residential buildings and
the NPA.
“Our
mandate requires us to destroy the site in situ, but we cannot do this because
it will degrade the environment and affect residents since it is situated in
the heart of Port Harcourt.
“Our plan
is to move them to a safe location for destruction.”
The
commander said that preliminary investigation had already begun to unravel
sponsors of the activity, adding that the 13 suspects would be handed over to
the relevant authorities for further investigation and prosecution.
Olabanji,
while urging oil thieves to desist from the sabotage of oil and gas
installations, assured Nigerians that the JTF would not rest until it rids the
state of illegal bunkering activities.
“Let it
be known that the army will not and will never tolerate illegal bunkering in
our area of responsibility,” he assured.
Olabanji
called on the public to provide the JTF with timely information which could
lead to the arrest of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.
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