Rivers Oil Theft: NSCDC Makes Key Arrests In Ongoing Operation

Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested seven suspected notorious oil thieves in Rivers State.

According to reports from the Headquarters of the Corps in Abuja, one of the suspects was a high profile person reputed for massive oil theft and vandalisation of pipelines in the Niger Delta region.

The Public Relations Officer of NSCDC in Abuja, Babawale Afolabi, attributed the arrest to crack operatives of the NSCDC’s Commandant General Special Intelligence Squad( CG’s SIS), saying the Squad acted on tip off to achieve the feat.

During the sting operation, one 43-year-old AbdulRauf Lawal and six others were arrested at Adobi Swampy Forest in Odagwa, Etche Local Government Area of the Rivers State, Babawale said in a statement.

He said the achievement was in continuation of the Corps’ resolve to salvage the nation’s economy from crude oil thieves.

Babawale said: “The CG’s Special Intelligence Squad acted on a tip-off and stormed the forest where the criminal elements had re-launched their nefarious operations of illegal oil bunkering by constructing a massive surface trampoline reservoir and loaded it with stolen crude oil that was syphoned from the installed well-head 10.

“In furtherance; these unscrupulous elements still mounted two separate local ovens inside the thick and swampy forest of Adobi community in Odagwa Town, Etche LGA of Rivers State.

“During the raid, the CG’s Special Intelligence Squad operatives were able to discover many surfaces of Tampauline reservoirs and local cooking ovens ladened with large quantities of stolen crude oil already syphoned through connection to an illegal refinery site around the Imo/Rivers 11 Flow Station in Adobi Swampy Forest at Odahwa Etche Local government area of Rivers State.

“In the course of the operation, a very notorious and most wanted pipeline vandal and oil thief was captured alongside six other suspects for their different levels of involvement in an offence of illegal dealings in petroleum products ranging from boiler, carrier, and buyer of the stolen crude oil”.

Besides Abdulrauf Lawal, ‘( the ring leader), and most wanted oil thief, others arrested are Okechukwu Princewill, Samuel Chukwuma Nwogu, Ndubuisi Emmanuel, Samuel Okon Ebong, and Happiness Monday.

Babawale listed items recovered from the scene  as large quantities of stolen crude oil filled inside the boat, a big wooden boat, many 6-inch industrial hoses that were used to illegally connect to the installed well-head, several instruments and tools abandoned inside the artisanal oil refining camp situated inside the swampy forest, and newly purchased drums.