Anti-Soot War: Counting The Gains

As desperate efforts by the Rivers State Government to track down all artisanal refineries and their operators in the state seem to be intensifying, Rivers people have commended Governor Nyesom Wike and his council chairmen for the courageous steps taken to tackle operators of illegal oil enterprise popularly called “kpofire” and the brilliant successes achieved so far.
The practical steps taken by the governor to declare those behind the illegal refineries wanted, and his visits to certain sites of the infamous activities are indeed comforting. The state has been grappling with soot emissions widely blamed on the activities of illegal oil refiners, and the complete destruction of their facilities by security agents, indiscriminate burning of tyres and certain actions in abattoirs.
At the inception of the war against artisanal refining of crude oil at the beginning of the year, the Rivers State Task Force on Illegal Street Trading had carried out several raids on some illicit refining sites in Port Harcourt and arrested many persons. Again, a number of sites and illegal crude oil refining activities identified in the state have been closed or virtually destroyed.
Governor Wike had declared 19 persons wanted for operating illegal crude oil refining locations, directly responsible for soot prevalent in the state. Barely 24 hours after the declaration, the Rivers State Police Command officially announced that its operatives arrested and paraded 18 persons implicated in outlawed oil refining activities in various parts of the state. Ever since, the “war” has taken on a stronger dimension.
Undeterred by the extremely hazardous nature of the governor’s directive to local government bosses to clamp down on “kpofire” sites, the Obio/Akpor Council Chairman, Barrister George Ariolu, guided by an intelligence report and surveillance, hinted that his administration had stormed two artisanal refineries and repositories on Salvation Street and Rahi Avenue in Rumuosi, respectively.
Evidence showed complicity of security agents in the crimes. Accordingly, Wike accused the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) anti-vandal unit and the police of aiding and abetting vandals and illegal bunkers in the state, urging the Police Commissioner, Eboka Friday, to redeploy the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Emohua Council for operating an illegal refinery in the area. While the NSCDC authorities promptly disbanded the anti-vandal unit and suspended its head, the police redeployed the DPO, further placing him under probe.
In Emohua Local Government Area, the crusade against illegal oil bunkering activities has continued to make appreciable progress. Following a tip-off on illegal oil bunkering actions, the Chairman, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, had intercepted newly constructed equipment being installed at an artisanal petroleum refining site in Rumuji town.
Consequently, the council boss led a combined team of security personnel and members of the local government task force on illegal oil bunkering into a forest in Rumuji, where construction work was being concluded for the take-off of a new artisanal petroleum refinery with over 15 tanks and receivers already fabricated and installed in the site.
Similarly, the Ikwerre Local Government Council Chairman, Engr Samuel Nwanosike, recently apprehended some persons with vehicles loaded with illegally refined petroleum products and handed the culprits including their vehicles to the police for further investigations. Isiokpo, Elele, Omerelu, Omagwa, Aluu and Igwuruta, among others, were indicted by the chairman for permitting illegal oil refining in their areas.
In addition, the Bonny Local Government Chairman, Dame Anengi Barasua, demolished an enormous illegal refinery in the area as part of government’s efforts to crush the activities of operators of artisanal refineries unleashing soot in the state. Barasua had led security agencies, Ijaw Youth Council members and Lo cal Ggovernment Area officials to annihilate a live oil bunkering camp at Banigo-Egbelu by Oputumbi Creek.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives lately called for an investigation into the proliferation of illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region, especially with the alleged involvement of the Nigeria Police, NSCDC, among others. The House directed the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, and heads of other relevant security agencies to immediately clamp down on illegal refiners in the state.
These remarkable feats and others owe much to Wike who has never failed to stand by his people. His “war” against illegal refineries is simply another indication of a leader who does not only lead from the front, but always puts his people first and steps on toes where necessary to ensure that Rivers people come first, no matter whose ox is gored. There should be determined strategies to flush out the criminals. Politics must be separated from the absolute imperative of protecting the citizens.
We have learnt that the war against illegal bunkering of crude oil cannot be ended unless the unlawful refineries are completely destroyed. We even realised that every time illegal refineries are destroyed, the oil thieves would always return to restart the business. However, we strongly advise security agents to adopt a new scientific strategy in destroying the facilities to reduce hydrocarbon pollution.
To prevent a dearth of refined products in the state, arising from the onslaught of illegal oil thieves, we urge the state government to work assiduously to ensure that the modular refineries promised by the Federal Government are set up. This will not only effectively terminate the economic sabotage on the nation but curb the soot droppings in the homes and premises of hapless Rivers residents.
Although artisanal refining of stolen crude oil is blamed for the current accelerator of soot and ambient air pollution in the Niger Delta, decades of reckless exploration and production activities by multinational companies, ill-maintained oil pipelines and facilities, routine gas flaring and lax regulatory framework could as well be responsible for the highly dangerous situation those in the region now find themselves.