Three ‘pipeline vandals’ arrested in Ibadan

Three men have been arrested by the police in Oyo State for allegedly vandalising pipelines.

Aiki Ademola, Olalekan Omolayo and Abass Yekini were arrested with 24 drums of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) loaded in two buses at Oluyide village, a boundary community between Ogun and Oyo states.

Ademola (35), the perceived gang leader, allegedly recruited two others as drivers. The buses were marked OSUN WWD16XA and LAGOS EKY 01XM.

Omolayo and Yekini confessed that Ademola contracted them to convey the goods for him.

Ademola, who introduced himself as an engine oil retailer in Ojoo, Ibadan, the state capital, confessed that one engineer, who he  identified as Koste, introduced him to the business.

He said he had been selling engine oil in Ojoo for seven years, adding that he started selling PMS unofficially three weeks ago.

The suspect added that he bought each keg for N1,800 from Koste and sold it at N2,500. He said he used to meet the engineer at Odeda Junction on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

His words: “The engineer asked me to arrange for drums to convey the petroleum product to Ibadan.

“I arranged for 24 drums in two buses and brought them to Odeda Junction, where I met with Koste’s agents.

“The agents collected the buses from the drivers at the junction and drove on the Odeda-Ogunmakin Road.

“I was arrested by the police at Odeda Junction, where I was waiting for the agents to come back.

The Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Katsina, who led a team of policemen to the scene, told reporters that the police had to move to the scene, due to the sensitivity of the matter.

He said: “We had to go beyond our boundary to take care of the situation. This was the coordinated effort of my Ambush Squad, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Skynet Squad as well as officers and men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

“You may describe these suspects as unrepentant economic saboteurs, but I will add one adjective to describe them-glutinous vultures- scavenging on our national pride.

“You are all aware of the situation we are facing today due to fuel scarcity; this is one of the many areas being punctured by these miscreants to deny the public and sabotage the Federal Government’s efforts to provide enough fuel for the citizens.”

He promised that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would be contacted.

The suspects would be charged to court after investigation, Katsina said.