The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Rivers State Command has disrupted the activities of economic saboteurs illegally refining crude oil at cemeteries in the Abalama and Oproama communities of Asari-Toru Local Government Area, Rivers State. Speaking during a four-hour operational tour along the waterway with the Marine Antivandal Squad, Command Public Relations Officer SP Olufemi Ayodele stated that the site was uncovered through credible and sustained intelligence efforts.
He said: “Recall that the NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, gave a marching order to all formations in the Niger Delta to step up their Intelligence and Operational efficiency.
“Acting on this directive the Rivers State Commandant Basil Igwebueze deployed the Marine Antivadal Squad to the crime scene where many boats filled with crude oil and refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) were sighted.
“This is the Abalama community and behind us is the Oproama community as well where cemeteries were converted to illegal bunkering sites. Upon our arrival, the suspects took to their heels knowing the squad had superior firepower.
“The NSCDC as an environmentally friendly agency outrightly condemns all acts of environmental pollution, degradation of the aquatic life, and economic sabotage.
“We have contacted some good people in the two communities and they are cooperating with us so that the perpetrators would be apprehended in due course. However, the quantities in litres of the locally refined AGO cannot be ascertained”.
He warned against the activities of vandals and illegal bunkers in the state stating that the fight against oil theft was a relentless war and suspects arrested with their sponsors would be made to face the full wrath of the law.