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Wike Accuses Security Agents Of Involvement In Oil Bunkering

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has accused the military and other security agencies of involvement in oil bunkering in the country.
The governor also said that it was high time the Nigerian State considered the damage caused by the activities of oil thieves to the economic mainstay of the country and treated them as treasonable offenders.
He said that the fight to stop oil theft has continued to fail because top ranking military officers were deeply involved.
Wike spoke when he hosted the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao, who was on courtesy visit at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Monday.
According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, the governor said: “You know this bunkering cannot stop; let’s be serious about it, everybody is involved. The military is involved. Police is involved. The Nigeria Civil Defence Corps is involved. If not, there is no way bunkering can continue. It’s a terrible thing.
“I don’t know, whether we should take the issue of bunkering to be a more serious offence than treason. If you go around and see what has happened to our environment, you’ll have pity on us”.
Wike advised members of the military task force deployed to arrest the illegal oil bunkers to find a better and environmentally friendly way to destroy bunkering sites in the state.
He said: “If there is another civilised way to go about it, so that while you’re doing the right thing, let us not die. You should find another way to reduce this soot. Unfortunately, we have no helper. On the other hand, we continue to pray to God to touch the minds of these bunkers”.
The governor, however, commended the military for the success they have achieved in the fight against insurgency, saying the military has succeeded in reducing the level of carnage Boko Haram and bandits have caused in parts of the country.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Amao, in his address, said he was on operational visit to 115 Special Operation Group in the State and decided to pay a courtesy visit to the governor who, he said, has contributed immensely to the functioning of their base in Port Harcourt.
Amao also commended the governor for the feat he has recorded in the state in terms of infrastructural development.
By: Boye Salau