Operatives of the Joint
Military Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, have arrested no fewer than eight suspected illegal oil criminals. Also, the operatives intercepted vessels and 32 barges loaded with suspected petroleum products at Onne Port, Rivers State.
During the operation, other accomplices were said to have escaped on sighting men of the task force.
Commander, JTF, headquartered in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, acting on a tip-off, had summoned a crack team of operatives as early as 7am on Tuesday for the port storm.The infantry general, with some of his operatives, set out for the operation. He had earlier sent a team of detectives from the outfit as advance party.
Atewe, however, changed the operational strategy in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, when he detailed his Chief of Staff, Col. Hillary Nzan, to lead the port’s operation, while he led other operatives elsewhere.
Nzan, who led some operatives in company with selected journalists, including our correspondent, stormed the Onne Port in a commando fashion, refusing entreaties of some naval personnel from NNS Pathfinder that they be allowed to handle the matter.
The ‘non-compromising’ Nzan, after telling the Naval operatives led by a lieutenant commander, that the matter was within the mandate of the JTF, hopped into a waiting JTF gunboat and moved to the theft scene.
The operation was successful as the Nzan-led task force was able to effect the arrest of eight suspects in a Cotonou (large wooden boat). Other suspects, however, escaped on sighting the task force men. The arrested suspects including those who escaped, were said to be the owners of the 32 barges suspected to be laden with illegal petroleum products.
Narrating the undercurrents to our correspondent, an informant, who declined to give his name, said the activities of oil thieves had become rampant at the Port. He said some persons including some security men threatened to “deal with him” for being loquacious.
The informant, who appealed to the relevant authorities to protect him, said he gave the information to the JTF because the oil criminals were plundering the nation’s economy as well as creating hazardous environment for people and fishes.
Speaking with journalists after the operation, Nzan said the JTF got a tip-off from good citizens. The JTF chief of staff said, “the operation we carried out was based on a tip-off from good citizens of this country. As we got the information, we swung into action. Luckily, we were able to arrest some Cotonou boats used for the illegal oil bunkering. We were able to arrest some persons in connection with the bunkering. Some of the barges were carrying products suspected to be petroleum products. We have taken the samples for laboratory analyses.
“However, when some of the suspects saw our task force men, then ran away. But we were able to apprehend eight persons.”
He said the JTF would carry out preliminary investigation into the matter to extract other germane information from the suspects.