- We are not involved in economic sabotage says Nigerian Army
Forces within the Niger Delta region have vowed to work with President Bola Tinubu to reduce attacks on the oil-rich region to zero level.
This assurance was given on Friday by the leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), Alhaji Asari Dokubo, who met with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Dokubo, who was a staunch supporter of the President all through the presidential campaigns and post-election period, said he visited to discuss issues bordering on security and the fight against oil theft in the Niger Delta.
Dokubo refuted claims that people from the oil-rich region were those involved in oil theft and pipeline vandalism and accused the armed forces personnel, especially those in the Navy and the Army as the kingpins behind the massive crime going on in the region.
Dokubo argued that the ordinary Niger Delta citizenry who are often blamed for these criminal activities are not responsible as they do not have the wherewithal to steal, saying there are ‘notorious’ Army and Naval oil kingpins that have engaged in an unprecedented crude oil theft in the last eight years.
According to him, the way the oil thieves have gone about their criminal activities has stripped the people of the Niger Delta of their livelihood, noting that it is a crime against humanity.
“The president is a fatherly figure to me. Our relationship spans over 30 years. I came here today to give words of encouragement to the President for the actions and policies so far made in this less than three weeks of governing a very difficult country like Nigeria.
“We discussed on a wide range of issues, especially on security and oil thieves in the Niger Delta. Myself and my brothers have assured the President that there would be zero oil theft and vandalization in the Niger Delta. We’re going to work with an NNPC, PCN and the IOCs to make sure that oil theft is brought to zero.
“The President has promised to take decisive action to make sure that this does not continue. It is very shameful. So I volunteered to help,” he said.
In a swift reaction to Dokubo’s allegation, the Nigerian Army has said it has zero tolerance for any compromise on the part of its troops and will not condone such acts of economic sabotage.
It also said that no black sheep within its rank and file would be spared if identified in engaging in such act.
Army’s spokesperson, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said this while reacting to Dokubo.
General Nwachukwu said through a WhatsApp message to The Nation that “the Nigerian has been vigorously engaged in the fight against illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, illegal oil refining and other sundry crimes in the Niger Delta and this has yielded positive results as evident in the increase in daily oil production per barrel from an abysmally dwindling output in the past.”
The Nigerian Navy, however, described as spurious the allegations by Dokubo that some cabals in the military are involved in oil theft in the region.
Director of Naval Information, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, challenged Dokubo to name those involved in such an act, claiming that the Niger Delta leader is only trying to court the favour of President Tinubu with such allegations.
“If Asari Dokubo is seeking some form of relevance and alleges that there is a cabal of military people that are involved in crude oil theft, let him bring the names. Nobody is afraid of getting the names of those involved in crude oil theft,” the naval spokesman told Channels Television on the phone.
According to him, the Nigerian Navy has through its Operation Dakata da Barawo recorded tremendous successes in the fight against oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
He cited the recent arrest of a ship, Heroic Edun, that entered Nigeria illegally and the court fines imposed on the owners of the ship as evidence of the Nigerian Navy’s desire to combat crude oil theft.
“The Nigerian Navy is actively involved in the fight against crude oil theft and the resources in the Niger Delta. So, for anybody to say that there is a cabal of military officers, the only simple thing is to bring the evidence, bring the names. I rest my case,” Ayo-Vaughan maintained.
