Oshiomhole Wants Tougher Actions Against Vandals, Oil Thieves

The Edo State Governor,
Adams Oshiomhole has urged the Federal Government to take drastic actions against pipeline vandals and oil thieves to serve as deterrence to others.
Oshiomhole stated this when the Task Force on protection of Oil and Gas Pipelines led by the commandant General of the Nigeria Security Defence Corps, Dr Ade Abolurin paid a courtesy visit on him at the Government House.
He said, we are very worried about the scale, not only of oil theft but the seeming ease with which pipeline are vandalised by all kinds of criminals leading to huge losess”.
The governor who regretted that many villages have been ruined remarked that a lot of the vessels that were seized in the course of tracking these characters whether at sea or around the riverine areas or in the creek which were being preserved as exhibit for legal purpose were being released.
My argument then and is still my argument today that rather than put a man in prison for ten years, I will rather sink his ship that is worth millions of dollars because at the end of the day, the judicial process can be quite difficult in dealing with this kind of criminals especially when huge sums of money is involved,” governor said.
He insisted that the best approach was to destroyed completely the exhibit as soon as it is taken before they start manipulating their ways in trying to find a way to get round the system.
The governor said though his village is not an oil producing community but had pipelines passing through it but that activities of the criminal resulted in oil spill as they broke the pipes.
He commended the NSCDC in its efforts toward protecting government properties in the state.
Earlier, the commandant said federal Government set up a committee for the  protection of national infrastructures and oil theft adding that the committee was going round the country inspecting the facilities as to know how best to protect them.