Topline Leighton Limited is a private pipeline surveillance firm hired by the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) to monitor its System 2B that runs from Atlas Cove in Lagos State through Ogun and Ondo states to Ilorin in Kwara State. The firm has, between January and this month, punctured major illegal oil bunkering sites, including Roberts Village near Atlas Cove and Ogere Waterworks, among others. It also caught some suspected vandals. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.
•Over 1,000 jerry cans of petrol seized
A major breakthrough in the fight against pipeline vandalism and oil theft has been achieved.
A private pipeline surveillance firm, Topline Leighton Limited, hired by the Pipeline and Products marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has caught some oil thieves at Ogere in Ogun State.
The alleged oil thieves hacked the PPMC’s System 2B Pipeline at Ogere Waterworks area of Ogun State. The pipeline right of way is in the bush and has been a haven for vandals.
However, luck ran against them (vandals) this week. The alleged thieves include Mr. Lanre Adewusi (47years), from Ogun State, Agbor Ayang (25 years) from Cross River, and Ebak Oyama (24years) from Cross River.
They however denied being vandals and oil thieves when interviewed by The Nation. They said they were lured into the bush by a friend who said they were being hired to load planks.
The Ogere illegal bunkering site has been notorious and the illegal activities there have degraded and polluted a greater part of the area with several abandoned wells and spills. At the site, about 1000 jerry cans of between 30 and 50 litres loaded with petrol (premium motor spirit) were impounded by the security agents and another over 1500 empty jerry cans packed in different parts of the bush.
The Security Coordinator, Topline Leighton Limited, Mr. Adigun Adetona, after the inspection of the pipelines and stolen fuel, said the pipeline surveillance firm was hired to monitor NNPC/PPMC system 2B pipeline from Atlas cove to Ilorin in Kwara State. The System 2B Pipeline runs from Atlas Cove in Lagos through Mosimi in Ogun State to Ore in Ondo State and to Ilorin in Kwara State.
“You saw we recovered over 1000 of jerry cans filled with petrol from the arrested vandals, as well as their equipment,’’he said.
Adigun said since his firm assumed the surveillance of the pipelines, it has made series of arrests at Atlas Cove and environs and new discoveries of where vandals operate. He said: “We are in-charge of the safety and Security of NNPC pipeline from Atlas Cove to Mosimi to Ibadan and from Ore to Ilorin. We are glad because of the landmark achievement here in Ogere Waterworks. You can see what we detected. Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have been going on here for decades but nobody has been able to apprehend the vandals but with our efforts and the collaboration of the security agencies, we are able to make this breakthrough. This is our commonwealth; they (vandals) are stealing. With the collaboration of other security agencies including the Police, Navy, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, we are ready to match them in all fronts and ensure that our national assets are secured.”
Adigun warned vandals to desist from destroying national assets and values, adding that it will no longer be business as usual. He said the vandals would be handed over to the police for interrogation, adding that his firm’s efforts had reduced the number of attacks by vandals, which has improved the pumping of petroleum products from the depots. The pumping has been frequent and regular.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on zero tolerance against oil theft and pipeline vandalism had started yielding results.
The Public Relations Officer, Mosimi Office, PPMC, Mr Godwin Agono, was also excited over the arrest of the vandals and noted that the stolen fuel would be returned to the depot. He lamented the loss of petrol from the Mosimi depot on daily basis due to the vandals’ activities.
He told The Nation that quantity of stolen fuel seen at the Ogere illegal bunkering site sends a big signal in terms of the battles the PPMC face, adding that the more programme and models applied to curb their activities, the better technology often deployed by vandals.
The Operations Manager and leader of the pipelines surveillance group, Mr. Aminu Joshua, appealed to the government for more support to track down more vandals. He said information about the Ogere arrest was put into reality on Monday during their patrol of pipeline’s right of way and discovered that about three trucks were coming out from the bush and were loaded with petrol.
He said that oil theft had been the major occupation of the community, adding that they engaged the vandals in gun battle. ‘’We urge NNPC and other government agencies to support the pipeline surveillance team in other to drive the vandals away’’,he said.
