The team also impounded 41 trucks loaded with forty-five thousand litres of petroleum products with two trucks covered with fertilizer.
Acting Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who paraded the suspects, yesterday, expressed police’s commitment to fight bunkering and pipeline vandalism.
Adejobi, who spoke on behalf of 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.
This came on the heels of the achievements recorded by the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on Petroleum/Illegal Bunkering (IGP-STFPIB), which has successfully impounded 41 trucks, 13 other vehicles; arrested 42 suspects out of whom 21 have been charged to court with 17 still under investigation while four convictions have been secured in court; pending and final forfeiture of 14 tankers and four cars to the Federal Government of Nigeria, with 6 cases pending in various Federal High Court branches across the federation.
Equally, 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 Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) were between 2021 till date.
According to the police spokesperson, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, “These successes were achieved in Rivers State and some other parts of the country, sequel to the unrelenting pragmatic and sustained fight collectively by the Federal Government, and the Inspector-General of Police. “The collective effort has assisted greatly in the fight against illegal bunkering and purveyors of adulterated petroleum products within the country.”
Amongst the suspects that were arrested and paraded before the newsmen today in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State were 31-year-old Rabiu Halidu from Katsina State, 30-year-old Michael Okoro from Rivers State, 50-year-old Arinze Eze from Enugu State, 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 trio of Lukman, Sefiu, and Nura hid drums of crude oil in a truck stacked with sacks of fertilizer.
The Commander IGP-STFPIB, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Usman Jubrin Kanfani, reported that the forfeited products, which were tested and confirmed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and approved private laboratories; and forfeited vehicles, are in the custody of the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) Ltd, while motions for the forfeiture of the rest are still pending in different Courts.
The Inspector-General of Police commended efforts of the Commander IGP-STFPIB and his team for their diligence even as he called for frequent operational patrols to curb the incessant activities of illegal bunker traders and economic saboteurs.
