NSCDC Nabs 140 Oil Theft Suspects In Rivers

The Rivers State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it arrested over 140 suspects in its quest to check oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the last quarter of 2017.
Public Relations Officer of NSCDC in the state, Michael Oguntuase in a chat with The Tide, yesterday, said already, 54 suspects were now under investigation and would soon be prosecuted.
He also said that within the period under review, 48 suspects were sentenced to various jail terms, while other suspects were undergoing trials in the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt.
The NSCDC spokesman stated that though securing and protecting federal assets were not the only mandate of the agency, he insisted that the challenge was high in Rivers State and other parts of the Niger Delta.
Oguntuase averred that the security agency was also mandated to regulate activities of private security companies and vigilante groups.
He disclosed that it has increased monitoring of private security companies by sensitising them on their responsibilities as well as training their personnel in techniques of assisting in providing security to the society.
On why the agency has not been able to check hawking of petroleum products and sabotage, the NSCDC spokesmen said, “That is the job of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and we can only come in when we discover that products being hawked by these people are not genuine”.
Oguntuase stated that, last year, the agency beefed-up monitoring of petroleum products sold across the state, and discovered that most Kerosene (DPK) products were from illegal refineries.
“It was after one of our routine checks and monitoring that we warned members of the public to be careful of the kerosene they buy along the road. After that, the level of kerosene explosion reduced”, the NSCDC’s PRO stated.
The PRO further said that the NSCDC Peace and Conciliation Unit set up by the security outfit to settle civil matters among the citizenry treats about 50 cases daily in Rivers State alone.
Oguntuase told The Tide that the unit has professionals such as chartered conciliators and lawyers whose duty is to ensure that civil matters were treated without resorting to the courts.
He added that, “We believe that the courts are congested, and that there are matters that could be treated out of court. So, we came in to close that gap to ensure peace in the society”.