A vandalised pipeline was photographed in the Niger Delta. Operatives of the Nigerian Navy in Delta State have arrested a suspected pipeline vandal and five alleged crude‑oil thieves in the region’s creeks.
Rear Admiral Abdulahmid Baba‑Inna, Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship Delta, paraded the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Warri on Friday. He then handed them over for prosecution to Mrs. Philomena Anigbogu, Area Commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The handover was carried out by Base Operations Officer Navy Commander Samuel Musa.
The suspected pipeline vandal, identified as Saturday Orogun, was apprehended at about 7:30 p.m. on 4 March 2023 by naval FOB operatives at Escravos. He was intercepted in a speedboat near Otumara Creek in Warri South‑West Local Government Area on suspicion of pipeline vandalism. During interrogation, Orogun, a native of Ovwian in Udu Local Government Area who resides in Arunton, claimed to be a boat driver transporting people and goods between Arunton, Shell Beach, Madangho and Tebeijoh. He said he had been contacted by a man named Peter to convey a Mr. Ekulis to a creek at Otumara, but was stopped by pipeline surveillance contractors who arrested him when he could not explain his presence.
On 5 March 2023 at about 11:30 a.m., FOB Escravos operatives arrested five suspected crude‑oil thieves at the Mina Oilfield offshore Escravos. The suspects—Taiwo Nelson, Adeyemi Joseph, Iseyemi Olaniran, Edomi Oworiode and Omoniyi Oladun—were found with a wooden boat carrying ten GEEPEE tanks containing approximately 45,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil. The boat and its cargo were towed to a safe location, the vessel was secured, and the suspects were taken to FOB Escravos before being handed over to NNS Delta.
Mrs. Philomena Anigbogu, NSCDC Area Commander, thanked the Navy for its effective operations in the Niger Delta creeks as she received custody of the suspects.
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