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Tag: Pipeline vandals

  • Residents raise alarm over pipeline vandals, cry out to police for help

    Residents of Oke-Odo and Pipeline area of Abule Egba in Agbado/ Oke Odo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have raised the alarm over the activities of fiendish vandals, who damage NNPC pipelines to steal fuel.

    A cross section of the aggrieved residents who spoke with The Nation condemned the incessant activities of the oil thieves operating in the area.

    They decried the indifference of the police authorities to their plight, noting that several complaints made to the divisional police station in Oke Odo, have not yielded fruits.

    Spokesman of the distraught residents, who is also the chairman of Estate/Pipeline Community Development Association, Prince John Okunebe, described the vandalisation as worrisome.

    He noted that several letters had been written to concerned authorities in recent times without tangible result or interventions.

    He said: ‘’ The vandals have been vandalising oil pipelines here and stealing fuel and getting away with it. They would dig out the pipelines from the ground and would not cover them properly before leaving.

    ‘’We have cried out to several concerned agencies, state government and law enforcement agents including the police, all to no avail.

    ‘’ What we want now is for the state government and the police to come to rescue as we do not want to experience what happened at the other side of Abule Egba, where pipeline explosion caused by vandals razed several houses and shops.’’

    ‘’The vandals would come and hurriedly leave without covering the vandalised pipelines while fuel would spill into adjoining drainage in this community. Let the state government construct or build this road, as this would bury the pipelines underground.’’

    Residents also condemned the exposure of pipelines which stretches to Aboru area, urging the Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Company to come to their aid.

    The Baale of Awori community, Chief Lamidi Kosoko, urged the state government to rescue the community from the recalcitrant vandals to avert pipeline explosion.

    Read also: ‘How herdsmen killed my husband on Christmas eve’

    ‘’We want both the police and state government to intervene and address our plight by stepping up security measures here, in order to prevent what happened at the other axis of Abule Egba, where there was pipeline explosion a few days ago.’’

    Another community leader, and Vice Chairman of Community Development Committee(CDC) of the council area, Apostle Moses Oyeledun tasked the federal government on providing adequate measures to tackle vandalism in the community.

    ‘’ What we have noticed lately is that fuel usually spills into our collectors drainage anytime the vandals damage pipeline and steal fuel. Not long ago, the vandals struck and left the pipelines uncovered while fuel spilled into a river in this community killing fishes while pythons emerged from the creek of the river. Not a few residents fled their home for days to avoid being killed or burnt if there is pipeline explosion.

    ‘’We have written several letters to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over this matter. Officials of the corporation from Abuja  visited us and went round the community to inspect the pipelines but nothing has been done since they visited us.’’

  • Ruined by pipeline vandals (2)

    Genesis of widows’ endless tears in Lagos, Ogun communities
    Residents still in trauma two years after oil thieves crisis

    The events that culminated in the travails of the widows, whose husbands were brutally murdered by oil thieves in Arepo, Elepete, Ibafo, Mowe and some other communities in Ogun and Lagos states, was believed to have begun with the decision of security agencies to confront the vandals after years of vandalizing and scooping fuel from the pipelines that crisscross the area. For many years before then, the bandits had swum in a pool of flowing income as they enjoyed uninterrupted access to the pipelines where they scooped unimaginable volumes of petrol.

    They had established for themselves two base stations, upincluding the creeks at Elepete, their abode, and a distribution port where they operated like a legitimate

    enterprise with booming patronage. The magnitude of their operation was such that even petrol stations sent their tankers in droves to a place known as Ogundele Phase 2 to source the commodity at incredibly cheap rates unobtainable elsewhere.

    Unfortunately, the vandals could not come to terms with the ill tide of dwindling revenue after the pipelines were shut and secured by security agents posted to the area by the Federal Government. They also believed that the inhabitants of the said communities were responsible for giving information to security agents about their operations.

    The secretary of Ogundele Community Development Area (CDA), Mr Oloruntoyin Alli, said: “I have lived in this community for close to 10 years. The military people settled here about five years ago. Before then, they (pipeline vandals) were in business and everyone, including some of the landlords, enjoyed doing business with them because their fuel was cheaper and more affordable. But the government shut down the pipelines and that brought an end of their business.

    “A conflict they had with one of their clients who refused to pay them for the fuel they had supplied him became the yoke that broke the camel’s back. They went to his filling station, vandalised it and also stole from it. The client alerted the state Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) which raided their camp at Elepete and killed two of the gang members. With that, the pipeline vandals, believed to be made up of militants from the Niger Delta region, began to terrorise Elepete community on the grounds that they sniffed on them and exposed them to the police. The raid left some people shot while properties were vandalized.

    “With their illegal oil business brought to a sudden end, they turned to stealing livestock reared by the people while some housewives were hijacked from their families. Unfortunately, it took about two weeks after the incident before the government intervened by bringing in a war jet to dislodge the militants. They have since deployed soldiers to maintain the peace.”

    According to the Secretary, Elepete CDA, Mr. Omodele Adebayo a.k.a. Eto, the community was yet to recover from the desertion that struck it after the incident. Many businesses relocated permanently with severe losses, while the courageous ones who stayed back found it difficult to revive their businesses.

    “Up until now, I can count more than 10 shops that people are no longer using. The hotel that was generating a lot of revenue has not bounced back till now because the place was totally ruined. The owner herself cannot come back for fear of the unknown,” he said.

    Corroborating his claims, Alli said: “Before the incident, dealers in building materials had a swell time because the area was just developing. The landlords who were benefiting from the vandalism were making enough to patronise sellers.”

    Elepete was not left out of the massacre as some unfortunate artisans and traders were also gunned down. Nasiru Kalid, a 26-year-old petty trader from Kebbi State, only narrowly escaped death when the militants stormed his shop with different kinds of ammunition. But his brother was not that lucky. He was shot dead as he left the mosque after the Ramadan prayers. It took Nasiru about two years and the reassuring presence of the Nigerian Army to return to his shop.

    ‘Our children now know war’

    “Don’t move! Don’t move! I’ll shoot your leg!” These are some of the lines commonly heard among playing group of children since the saga. The tender psyches of the kids have been testament to the sorts of oppression that could be done with the possession of dangerous ammunition.

    “When my children sleep at home and just peep through the window, they easily suspect that the militants are back. Their thinking is so impacted that once they see something, they tag it as a gun,” a parent said.

    Busari’s children, Islamiat, Jamiu and Bashiru, may never know what it means to grow with a fatherly figure. “On a particular day, my third born asked, ‘Mummy, don’t we have a daddy anymore?’ I only told him not to worry,” Mrs Busari recalled.

    The four-year-old twins of Mr. Lucky Udoh, Epkono and Eno, can hardly recall anything about him other than the biscuits he used to buy for them. Their eldest brother, Prince, wants to study Law or Political Science in the university but has had to pull through a N9,000 packaging job at a water factory to support his vegetable-trading mother.

    “Even if I excel in the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, there is no financial support to pursue my dream,” said 17-year-old Prince.

    The proprietor, Effectual Nursery and Primary School, Mrs Anyiayo, can no longer boast of the same success she had had running the school years after the incident. She had to shut down the school for more than six months because parents were withdrawing their wards and relocating. A class of 15 pupils, she said, shrunk to two.

    She said: “I closed down the school and travelled to my village. It was from the village that I was called that peace had returned. My premises were overgrown with grass. We restarted with coaching. From three, they increased to five and more. Very few pupils returned because most of their parents had relocated.”

    Mr Adebayo, a supervisor at a popular secondary in Igbo-Olomu, said students’⅞ performance dropped terribly as they missed parts of the syllabus to be covered for the period.

    “We had to jump and continue.  We are still appealing to the government for help, and those that have not returned to do so,” he said.

    Worries over government’s silence

    The question on the lips of many observers is why the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) endured the colossal breach of its facilities without prompt rectification; why the authorities watched on as Ogundele carved a niche as a renowned petroleum depot, and later on, a bloodletting theatre.

    There were suspicions that many of the bandits operated in connivance with some soldiers and policemen. There were claims in some quarters that the vandals paid ‘royalties’ to some security personnel who came on incessant patrols until the illegal business ended. This eroded the confidence of residents in the ability of the security agencies to rein in the bandits.

    Adebayo said: “Based on fear and panic, residents of Elepete could not go far to report the goings on to the authorities or government. We believed that the government itself knew that such things were going on in the area and people were smuggling fuel out. We were afraid. The weapons they were wielding at that time were quite intimidating.”

    Alli said: “During the heat of that invasion, there was nothing we could do. Those we ought to report to were practically their business partners. The security personnel who came to guard us then from Ishawo usually came here to collect money.  That clearly showed us we had no one to fight for us besides God.”

    The national oil firm, in its financial and operations report for 2017, said it recorded tremendous rise of 233 per cent in pipeline vandalism in January of the year under review compared to the preceding month, despite the interventions of the Federal Government and stakeholders.

    Noting that the activities of the vandals had complicated the smooth flow of petroleum and crude supply system, it said over N174.57 billion had been lost through product losses and repairs in the last 15 years.

    According to the corporation, the combined working capacity of all the 21 Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) depots nationwide, excluding holding capacities at the refineries, could provide products sufficiency of up to 32 days for petrol, 65 days for kerosene and 42 days for diesel, but unfortunately, that had not been realised. The data further indicated that a total of 16,083 pipeline breaks were recorded within the last 12 years.

    Withdrawal of soldiers, return to status quo

    From Elepete to Ogundele, the earnest plea is that government should not withdraw the troops as any other attack would lead to another mass desertion. The Coordinator, Elepete Community Development Association (CDA), Akeem Yisau, told The Nation that the recovery effort by the community has only been feasible with the presence of soldiers.

    During the crisis, the infrastructural facilities such as the central transformer were shut down. The community had independently spent N500,000 on short bridge, graded its roads and is currently constructing a central linking bridge with Ogundele community. These investments, they fear, could stagnate if adequate security is not maintained to prevent a reoccurrence.

    Yisau said: “Our hope and prayer is that soldiers would not leave Elepete. If they leave today, you would not find a single soul in this community. We still have the feeling that the militants are still around but are calm because of the presence of soldiers. We appeal to the Federal Government that we still need more soldiers here because there are hidden places that the army cannot deploy their men to. The soldiers available are not enough to guard us.”

    Adejide Omiyale, the coordinator, God First CDA, also appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to beef up security around its facilities against future occurrences of vandalisation, saying it would go a long way to sustain the relative peace in the area.

    Going forward

    The menace of pipeline vandalism was previously only associated with the Niger Delta region for which in response the Federal Government set up the Joint Task Force (JTF).  The question bothering many, therefore, is how the country measures the depth of corruption in a sector responsible for about 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings and 80 per cent of government revenue.

    From past indications, determining the impact of corruption in the oil and gas sector, usually, means economic analyses of depleting or accruing revenue base visà-vis production performance. Hence, the country stays economically sensitive to any threat capable of cracking its pot of gold, reacting with considerable level of concern. But hardly is attention paid to the invaluable cost that individual victims pay when brazen corruption is allowed to fester.

    When the Niger Delta militants resumed disruptive activities in pursuit of long-agitated benefits two years ago, for instance, their action was easily measured by decreased output of about 500 million barrels per day. The closure of Royal Dutch Shell Forcados export terminal, the following event, was economically explained as pared production of 250,000 barrels a day. Not long after, a Chevron shutting following a security breach at one of its facilities was also explained as an additional deficit of 90,000 barrels. The consequence, according to OECD data, is a landmark 20-year low in oil production.

    Of the 2.5 million barrels estimated daily capacity, theft independently accounted for a mind boggling loss of about one million barrels per day during the last administration, according to President Muhammadu Buhari whose administration rode in on anti-corruption mantra in 2015. Renewing the call for a halt to corruption last February when he spoke to local and foreign oil stakeholders at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja, he stressed that his government was tirelessly working to instill transparency at all levels of oil and gas transactions.

    “Corruption in this industry must not be allowed in any form. On our part, we will not stop the fight until a new image is created where transparency will be the watchword in all our transactions,” he said.

  • Ruined by pipeline vandals(1)

    Travails of women widowed by oil thieves in Lagos, Ogun communities

    Ogundele and Elepete are neighbouring communities at the two ends of the border between Lagos and Ogun states. The two communities have creeks which for years have served as base stations for pipeline vandals of Ijaw origin who ride in boats all the way from the Niger Delta region to terrorise Arepo, a community in Ogun State which plays host to pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). For about four years, these invaders have remained a pain in the neck of government, vandalizing pipelines and scooping premium motor spirit (PMS) for illegal marketing. Government’s attempt to check the menace in 2015 occasioned a reprisal attack by the vandals the following year, during which inhabitants of Ogundele, Elepete and a few other adjourning communities were subjected to violent attacks. TEMITAYO AYETOTO visited the area and reports on the state of affairs in the said communities.

    It was a fateful night which saw about 20 landlords converged on a border point between Ogundele and Elepete, two neighbouring communities at the extreme ends of Lagos and Ogun states. The nocturnal meeting was necessitated by fragmental attacks on communities in the area by gunmen believed to have come from the Niger Delta region. The people had grown weary of daylight robbery attacks that left their pockets penniless, their wives raped, their pots of soup emptied and loved ones kidnapped in exchange for outrageous ransoms. Convinced that looking away as the intruders invaded their communities and made life unbearable was not a desirable option, they resolved to confront the menace head-on. The unanimous decision that fateful night was to unravel the identity of their tormentors and possibly drive them to the point where appropriate sanctions would be meted out to them. Wielding their sticks and cutlasses, they waited in the dark with torches, furiously anticipating any untoward movement.

    Forty-year-old Adeyinka Busari was among the patriots who kept vigil that night. Before joining his co-landlords, the father of five had admonished his first son, who was preparing for his entrance examination into secondary school, to give his best, assuring him of unflinching support for his future educational pursuit. But like smoke that vanished into thin air, the automobile mechanic never returned.

    Recalling the events that culminated in his untimely death, Busari’s 38-year-old wife, Folashade, said: “When he returned from work that night, he told me he had made arrangements with other landlords to keep vigil because of the issues of insecurity in the community. He said that if they were able to keep vigil for about three days, normalcy would return.

    “Before then, I had urged him to let us relocate away from the area because I was scared. But he ignored my counsel, saying that nothing bad would happen. He then changed the batteries of his torch and left.

    “I was troubled throughout the night by the sound of gunshots, but I dared not go out. By 6 am, I called out but nobody answered. I concluded that he probably could not return home after the vigil, so he went to his friend’s place. I decided to check on him at his friend’s place, but I had barely left our compound when I found his corpse beside our fence. He was shot in the leg.”

    Since the incident, Folashade has become the metaphor for the bereaved families in the area. Her teary countenance dashes her effort to conceal her pains, even as she narrated her ordeal to the reporter. Keeping the family together has been dependent on the N58,000 garnered yearly from letting out two of the four-room bungalow her husband left behind as well as the charity from neighbours.

    She said: “Since his death, I have only relied on the generousity of neighbours, friends and the meagre proceeds I get from my petty-trading. Most of my husband’s family members live faraway in the North. None of them could come except his younger brother who lives in Surulere. Our co-landlords are my benefactors.

    The building my husband left behind has only four rooms. We rented out two for N24,000 each per annum. From that, I manage to pay my children’s school fees and use the balance for household needs.”

    The experience was not different at Deji Opeyemi area of Ogundele. With a feeling of euphoria, Mr Lucky Udoh, a hard-working fish distributor, had moved into his modest apartment only about two months earlier. Since his business had begun to hit the rocks, the father of five thought it wise to relieve himself of the burden of hiring an apartment and struggled to complete his single bedroom apartment. But his vision did not envisage the tragedy he was up against. invited him to join the struggle against the aliens that were making life unbearable for inhabitants of their community, and he gladly obliged in the spirit of togetherness. By the following day, however, he had become history.

    Recalling his last moments in a chat with our correspondent, his widow said the agreement they had was that he would just go to show some solidarity with the other landlords in the community and return home immediately. That, however, was not to be.

    She said: “My husband had told me that he would just go there to show some support and return home. The next thing, around 12 am, I was jolted by gunshots into sudden consciousness. That was when I remembered that my husband was not in the house. I wanted to step out but the sounds of the gunshots were too intimidating. I decided to peep through the window to see if he would show up, but he didn’t.

    “I kept surfing the angles of our sitting room till the tension eased. Not too long after, a neighbour came knocking and asking after my husband. My son said he was inside, but I sped out immediately and told the man that he was not inside. The man turned and left without saying anything.

    “I started looking for my husband, but a woman we call Mama Joy held me, saying that I would not be able to manage the sight of my husband if I saw him. But I insisted on seeing him. Eventually, I found my husband’s body by the roadside. I shook him vigorously, calling out his name, but he didn’t answer. I could not believe that he was gone forever.”

    At the time of filing this report, Mrs. Basirat Lawal was determined never to return to her matrimonial home. Of what comfort is an elegantly structured and tastefully furnished two-storey complex that makes a nightmare of what used to be her abode of joy, happiness and pleasant memories?

    She said: “I can never live in our house again because he was buried there. I can’t stand the sight of his grave. It is better for spouses to depart than to be separated by untimely death. We were like twins.” Until her husband’s untimely death, the graceful, fair-complexioned woman in her mid-40s jointly ran chains of fabrics stores with him at Idumota in the heart of Lagos. They occasionally travelled abroad to shop for the latest fashion items. Unfortunately, she was on one of such journeys to China when tragedy struck and tore her home apart.

    The killing of her husband, Alhaji Rafiu Lawal, an indigene of Kwara State, is regarded in the community as the most violent and inhumane of all, as he was reportedly set ablaze with countless gunshots in his bid to escape. Ironically, while his remains were being committed to mother earth the following day, his widow, oblivious of his demise, was at the Muritala Muhammed Airport, eagerly waiting for him to come and take her home upon her arrival from China.

    According to Mrs Lawal, ominous signals had been running through her spines but she could not pin them to anything.

    She said: “At first, a customer sent a message on WhatsApp, saying she learnt there was a lot of chaos in our area. I told her I was not in the country. She advised that I should call home because the situation had escalated. I called but they said there was no problem.

    “Again, another person called me. I got worried and asked my sister to fetch my kids and keep them with her till my arrival. The following Wednesday, they returned home because things had calmed down. I still didn’t know what was going on until I was expecting my hubby to come and pick me at the airport but saw my friend instead.

    “She drove me straight to her house on the excuse that the pandemonium was too serious. I asked where my husband was and they said he had taken his elder brother to the hospital. I later realised that something serious had hit me when I got to her house and found a crowd of friends waiting. What are they doing here? They said Alhaji had been murdered.”

    Recalling her last moments with him, she said: “My last conversation with him was in China. He said he didn’t expect that my number would still be available, and I told him I was just boarding because the flight was delayed.

    “He never mentioned the crisis or that he was going to join the vigilante team even though we were in touch till the Thursday night he was killed. I just told him to arrive at the airport early. I got to the airport and his line was already switched off.

    “He was already buried when I arrived on Friday. The following Sunday, I came back to get a few of my things and never returned.”

    For a retired driver at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Alimi Kadiri, what could have condemned him to early grave only left an indelible mark on his right thigh. The 67-year-old was the first to be gunned down in the merciless rampage launched adjacent to his residence, just by the end of Ogundele where the vigil was kept.

    Until he experienced the grim closeness between life and death, his only headache was the challenge posed by land grabbers in the area. “That night, a lot of men came out and converged opposite my house,” he recalled. “I didn’t have the energy to stay up with them, but I went there to encourage them. I was with them for some moment, chatting about not having guns and aiming to catch criminals.

    “I had barely spent 10 minutes when the militants arrived. I was the first they shot because I thought it was Elepete CDA people that were coming to join us when I saw their vehicle approach me. I moved close to them and they fired at me.

    “The bullets hit me at two different spots in the upper and lower part of my right tight, such that I could insert my finger and exit on the other side.”

    While the attackers thought he had given up the ghost, they continued aiming at others with ruthless vigour. The old man managed to limp down to his friend’s residence from where he was rushed to the hospital.

    Three months after series of rejection at different public health centres and expenditure amounting to about N300, 000, Mr Kadiri was able to walk with the aid of a staff.

     

  • Army arrest eights pipeline ‘vandals’

    Recovers over 1000 kegs

    OPERATIVES of the 81 Division, Nigerian Army have arrested eight suspected pipeline vandals at Imoro Creek, Ikorodu.

    The suspects, Muftau Saliu, Segun Oladipupo,  Akeem Adeniyi, Bukola Adepoju, Wasiu Jamiu, Abiodun Akindode, Azeez Ibrahim, and Matthew Oboregbeyen, who were arrested on April 17, were paraded yesterday by the General Officer Commanding  (GOC) 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Enobong Udo.

    According to Udo, the army discovered sabotage points along the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline including a loading area in the creek where products were siphoned.

    He said the army recovered 10 vehicles, comprising seven saloon cars, two wagons and a J5 bus, 31 jerry cans laden with refined petroleum products, 1,397 empty kegs, three coolers, nine mobile phones and substances suspected to be hard drugs.

    Of the 1,397 kegs, Udo said 1,320 were discovered separately and destroyed during the raid.

    The army also raided vandals’ haven at Ilara and Imagbon areas of Ikorodu, where a wooden boat, 40 empty 50 litre jerry cans and 1000metre-long laid hose, used for siphoning petrol were destroyed.

    “The suspected vandals are undergoing preliminary investigation after which they will be handed over to the appropriate security agency for further action,” said Udo, who was represented by the Commander, 9 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Moundhey Ali.

    However, the suspects denied being vandals, with most of them insisting they were innocent.

    Oboregbeyen said he stopped the business three years ago when a crisis broke out in the creek, insisting he had since started a legitimate livelihood.

    He accused a Baale of masterminding his arrest, adding that the Baale had threatened him a few days before soldiers came to pick him up.

    Oboregbeyen said: “To be honest, I was into the fuel business but I stopped three years ago. I was doing it with the Baale. When I stopped, I started riding motorcycle and also doing bricklaying job. What happened was that the Baale went and sold a portion of my land and I challenged him for that.

    “Then, I had issues with my wife and he wanted to meddle but I told him to mind his business. He then told me that he is going to put me where I will not return. Then, two days after, soldiers came and arrested me. They went to my house, searched it but they did not find any fuel or anything. They asked me where I kept fuel; I told them I do not know what they were talking about. That was how I was brought here.”

    Saliu said he was arrested after soldiers saw fuel in his vehicle, adding that he usually bought 50 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from vandals at N4,500.

    Akeem claimed they apprehended him because his vehicle reeked of PMS, insisting that he had no business with pipeline vandals and was just a commercial taxi driver.

    Meanwhile, in the early hours of yesterday, the inhabitants of Peace Estate at Ipaja, Lagos, woke up to see their neighbourhood covered in smoke as a fuel pipelines in area were engulfed with fire.

    Less than three months ago, the same pipelines were engulfed by fire allegedly caused by vandals. The residents are also accusing vandals of being behind the fire.

    According to one eyewitness, the fire started around four in the morning and it was under control when our reporter visited the scene. Two Lagos State firefighter vans were seen at there though there was nothing they could do about the fire. Also at the scene were some policemen who were trying to control the observers.

    One of the residents, who gave his name as Kunle, is pleading with the government to secure the pipeline as they no longer feel safe in the area. “This might occur again and could be worse if nothing is done about it. Our houses are close to the pipeline and it is not less than three months this happened. After the first incident nothing was done and I’m sure nothing will be done about it. The government should look into it and do something about it.

    “We are relocating from this place once our house rent expires,” said Shade who was still in fear, “if you check my blood pressure you would see that it has gone up. This place needs to be secured. Maybe one day the whole place will be engulfed by fire and I don’t want family to be victim.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reported that 50 suspected cultists were arrested by the army after intensive surveillance and intelligence.

    Gen Udo said the suspected cultists are members of ‘Eiye’ confraternity. He added that they were conducting physical training for new recruits, initiation and planning for robbery and kidnap activities when soldiers swooped on them.

    “Their arrest was preceded by a shootout between the troops of 174 Battalion Ikorodu and the cultists after which, 23 of the suspected cultists were arrested while others escaped,” he said.

    The GOC said that two of the suspects sustained gunshot wounds, adding that one of the suspected newly-recruited cultists died as a result of injuries inflicted on him during the cult initiation.

    “However, one of our gallant soldiers, while combating the cultists sustained a gunshot wound on his left leg during the encounter and was immediately evacuated.

    “The soldier and the two wounded cultists are receiving treatment at the Battalion’s Medical Reception Station.”

    Recovered from the suspects are one locally-made double barrel pistol, five live cartridges, five machetes, four jack knives, two table knives, three locally-fabricated axes with nail like edges and five mobile phones.

    A parcel of Indian hemp, two ATM cards, eight identity cards, nine passport photographs, packets of condom, rings and a variety of charms were similarly seized from them.

    He said operations to rid Ilara and Imagbon areas of Ikorodu of pipeline vandals sparked a shooting by suspected vandals.

    “The suspected vandals, armed with AK-47 rifles, fired sporadically and fled on sighting the troops,” he said.

    “During the operation, sabotaged portions of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines were observed in Imoro Creek in Imagbon.

    “Items recovered from them include one wooden boat, 40 empty jerry cans each weighing 50 litres and a 1,000-metre-long hose, ostensibly used in siphoning products by the suspected vandals.

    “The recovered items were destroyed and no arrest was made.”

    The GOC also said that seven impersonators were arrested alongside eight suspected vandals on April 17 in Lagos and Ogun states.

    “While on anti-bunkering patrol along Imoro Creek in Ikorodu, troops discovered sabotaged points along the NNPC Pipeline including a loading area in the Creek for siphoned products where eight suspected vandals were arrested.

    “Items recovered from them include 10 Vehicles, 31 Jerry cans loaded with refined products, 77 empty Jerry cans, three coolers, nine mobile phones and substances suspected to be hard drugs.

    “Another set of 1,320 empty Jerry cans were also discovered and destroyed. In addition, seven suspected impostors were arrested by troops while on operation CHECKMATE,’’ he said.

  • Six suspected pipeline vandals arrested in Lagos

    Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command yesterday arrested six persons suspected to be responsible for the vandalisation of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC ) pipeline in Fagbile Estate, Isheri Ijegun, on Thursday.

    The suspects are: Jimoh Shola, 23; Wasiu Adebayo, 25; Sanni Shago;  Alamu Garuba, 22; Jonathan Okiki, 35 and Taoreed Saula, 32.

    The suspects, according to the state’s police command were arrested at 1.30 am at the scene.

    Police spokesman, Chike Oti, a Supretendent of Police, said the attention of the command was drawn to a report making the round on the social media that there were people scooping fuel from vandalised NNPC Pipeline at Fagbile Estate Isheri-Ijegun Lagos .

    He said before the news went viral on the social media, the command had alerted  NNPC officials, the Fire service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp(NSCDC)  who went there and brought the situation under control .

    Oti said the suspects were arrested by the Command’s undercover operatives attached to Area ‘M’, Idimu.

    He added that the suspects are currently undergoing interrogation at the Command’s headquarters Ikeja, and would be charged to court at the end of  investigation.

  • Photos: vandalised pipelines in Lagos

    Pipelines at Isheri-Oshun in suburb area of Lagos were vandalised in the early hours of Thursday.

    According to eye witness, about six loads of tankers operated on the pipeline and left before day light.

    Our reporter witnessed the flow of PMS in the area which could be dangerous as residents were busy scooping fuel.

    Read Also: ‘Technology vital to fighting pipeline vandalism’

  • Five pipeline vandals die in fire-induced explosion

    Nemesis has caught up with a gang of five oil thieves attempting to vandalise a pipeline in Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered at least two of the vandals were roasted to death while three others were burnt beyond recognition.

    A source who spoke in confidence said the victims of the explosion were found by indigenes on February 25th in the creeks of Azagbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.

    The suspected oil thieves were said to have attempted to rupture the pipeline using dynamites.

    “The indigenes heard the sound of the explosion. It was followed by fire.

    “But in the morning, when they went to the scene they found two dead bodies and three others badly burnt,” he said.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Asinim Butswat, said the matter had not been officially reported.

    He, however, promised to get back with further details.

  • Pipeline vandals jailed five years

    Pipeline vandals jailed five years

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday sentenced three pipeline vandals to five years imprisonment.

    Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo found Yaya Musa, Sephiani Sani and Oluwole Atobatele guilty of the crime.

    The prosecution said the convicts, on December 19, 2010, at about 01.20 a.m. at Ogere area of Ogun State, conspired to tamper with a petroleum pipeline.

    They also damaged the pipeline and stole 33, 000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol valued N2.145 million.

    Police prosecutor, Justine Enang, a Deputy Superintendent of Police attached to the Anti-Pipeline Vandalization and Illegal Bunkering team, Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, said the convicts were arrested with the stolen product.

    The three men were first arraigned in 2011 and granted bail.

    But one of them jumped bail, leading to revocation of the terms in 2014.

    Enang called three witnesses during the trial, but the convicts, who pleaded not guilty, did not call any witness in their defence.

    Justice Oguntoyinbo, in a verdict on Wednesday, said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

    She sentenced the convicts to four, five and two years on count one, two and three.

     

     

     

  • NSCDC arrests 78 pipeline vandals in Rivers

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Rivers Command, said on Friday it arrested 78 oil pipeline vandals between January and March.

    The State Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Lawan Haruna, who disclosed this in Port Harcourt, said 53 of the suspects had been arraigned in court.

    He said seven suspects have been released as the products they were arrested for are “genuine” petroleum products.

    He noted that pipeline vandalism was on the decrease in the state compared with the figure during the same period in 2016.

    Haruna attributed the reduction to the aggressive efforts of the command, the campaign mounted against vandalism and the collaboration with other security agencies.

    He advised the youths not to allow themselves to be used for criminal activities.

    “We should not allow ourselves to be used by some people to do illegal businesses,’’ the commandant said.

    NAN

  • Fear grips Ikorodu community as militants return to terrorise Isawo residents

    Residents of Isawo in Ikorodu, Lagos State, say they now live in palpable fear following the return of militants who are terrorising people in the area.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the militants, mostly kidnappers and pipeline vandals, were chased out of the area in August last year following bloody clashes in the community.

    NAN reports that scores of people were killed in 2016 during clashes between militants and residents of Isawo community, leading to the deployment of a joint military taskforce in the area.

    Residents told NAN on Monday that many of the hoodlums had returned to Isawo and neighbouring communities, robbing and terrorising residents.

    “The militants are back to Isawo area. They brandish guns openly during daytime and rob people at night; many residents are now living in fear.

    “The men are boasting that they are back to revenge the killings of their people in Isawo last year.

    “For instance, Olusola Oke Street junction in Isawo near Majidun is one of the militants’ meeting points where they smoke Indian hemp openly.


    “Residents don’t go out daily until 7a.m, and before 6 p.m., everyone is back home,’’ a female resident, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN in Isawo.

    She said some residents had relocated from the area for their safety since the return of the hoodlums.

    Another resident, who also sought anonymity, told NAN: “When we thought that these people were gone forever, they came again.

    “We want the military and the police to check them before they start killing again.’’

    Reacting to the development, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, Lagos State Police spokesman, told NAN that the command was re-strategizing the security arrangements in the state, including Ikorodu area.
    Famous-Cole said more police patrol teams would be deployed in the area, and urged residents to provide useful information on the activities of the hoodlums.

    , told NAN :”I don’t have any report yet to suggest that militants are back in those areas.

    “But Lagos State Governor has approved the return of swamp buggies to open up the creeks in those areas to enable us carry out in-depth patrols,” he said.

    The swamp buggy is a motor vehicle used to traverse boggy swamp terrain.

    Buggies are able to move about on dry land, shallow mud, sand, shallow water and deep mud.

    NAN recalls that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Idris Ibrahim, on Aug. 4, 2016 visited Isawo creeks in Ikorodu neighbourhood over the activities of militants.