The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Vandals

  • Two feared dead in soldiers’, vandals’ gun battle

    Two feared dead in soldiers’, vandals’ gun battle

    Two persons were yesterday feared killed and five others injured during a gun battle between security operatives and pipeline vandals in Lagos.

    Residents of Seventh Avenue in Festac Town and environs were woken up by the booming guns.

    Many thought it was another robbery. Last month, robbers raided two banks and wreaked havoc on the area. A woman and her daughter were killed by stray bullets.

    To avoid being hit by stray bullets, the residents were said to have laid on the floor.

    But, a motorcyclist, Stephen Manga, and his roommate, Joseph Zira, were but on their legs by a stray bullet inside their apartment.

    Three soldiers also sustained leg injuries; a vandal was killed and several others escaped with gunshot wounds.

    The Nation learnt that a Mobile Policeman was killed by some of the fleeing hoodlums around Alakija, after they snatched a commercial bus and forced the driver to whisk them away.

    Manga, who said they were held hostage by the vandals until soldiers arrived, claimed that the shooting lasted over four hours.

    He said the vandals were up to 50 and hooded. Some, he added, dressed in Army camouflage.

    “We stay in that Pako near where those people usually steal fuel beside Elcee events Centre, Fourth Avenue by Seventh Avenue. Our house is built with stick and many of us live there.

    “We started hearing gunshots around 4:41am. We did not know what was happening and we could not come out. Everyone was in their own room and I was in my room with my friend, Joseph. We were lying down beside each other with our legs facing the road.

    “The shooting continued with the vandals talking to themselves.  I don’t think the army was there at that time.

    “But around 7am, some army people ran to our place and the next thing, bullet hit my leg, came out from the other side and entered my friend’s leg too and came out.

    “We were bleeding and the army people directed us to a hospital. Our brothers, who also live in the place, saw the bullet. They picked it and gave it to the soldiers. The bullet looks white and not very big.

    “So, as they told us to go to the hospital, they also chased everyone from the place. They helped us live so that those people won’t kill us all.

    “At first I was taken to Mercy Gate Hospital but they refused to treat me until the army people called and spoke with them on phone and my people also went and brought police report from Area E Command.

    “The hospital did not treat my brother because of money. My brother went to another place where he was treated,” said Manga.

    Another resident, who gave his name as Munyale Kwada, said the hoodlums initially overpowered the army.

    Kwada said the army went for reinforcement, brought in three armoured tanks and engaged the bandits who were already chanting victory songs.

    He said: “We were trapped in the shooting by the criminals until the army came and rescued us.

    “The thieves were shooting for about two hours. When the army came, they told us to remain inside and that no one should come out.

    “The boys were many. I heard army people telling their colleagues that they should go because the boys were many and three soldiers have been injured.

    “When the army left, the criminals started singing. They were singing and shooting. They covered everywhere up to W Close on Seventh Avenue. They blocked the entire road and were shooting continuously.

    “So, army came back reinforced and with three armoured tanks. The shooting continued till about 8am when the vandals ran away.

    “Since the time the vandals left, army and police have taken over the entire area. They have put road blocks and they do not allow people to come near that area again because of danger.

    “I know they arrested someone but I don’t know who the person is. I heard the army shouting at someone to enter the vehicle.

    “Also we later heard that the vandals hijacked a Danfo bus, forced the driver and one passenger to carry 10 of them who were in military camouflage and they ran away.

    “We also heard that the bus killed a Mobile Police man around Alakija. And that the vandals also hijacked a Sienna space bus from the owner.”

    One Ife Igwebuike told The Nation that the hoodlums arrived in the area around 3am and were siphoning petroleum products.

    She said the police alerted the military and requested assistance because they could not face the vandals.

    “One vandal was shot dead and the rest ran away with barrels of crude oil and some gun wounds. The army men tried a lot and none of the soldiers was killed,” she said.

    Another resident, Andre Ogodo said, a stray bullet entered his apartment.

    “I started hearing gunshots just before 7am. I ignored them, thinking they were sounds of fireworks. Five minutes later, I heard sirens and more gun fire.

    “On my way to the bathroom, I saw a hole in the window blinds covering the window at the stairwell.

    “That’s when I realised it really was gun fire. The hole was most likely made by a stray bullet. The wall directly opposite the window blinds had a crack as well, in tandem with the hole in the blinds.

    “I promptly returned to my room and laid low till the shooting died down. The streets were unusually quiet,” he said.

    Lagos State Police Command spokesman Joseph Offor, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said there were no casualties.

    He said there was heavy deployment of soldiers and police, assuring the residents of their safety.

    “Following sporadic shooting by the hoodlums in the creek of FESTAC early hours of Tuesday November 17, residents of the area are advised not to panic as there has been heavy deployment of soldiers and the police.

    ‘’No policeman was killed. No vandal was shot dead. No one, soldiers or residents sustained any form of injury. Nothing like that happened.

    “Within the period, some exercises may be going on in readiness for any untoward attack from the hoodlums.

    “Residents are advised to go about their lawful businesses without any fear as the command and sister security agencies are on top of the situation,” Offor said.

  • Suspected pipeline vandals’ kingpin held

    Suspected pipeline vandals’ kingpin held

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Enugu State command, has announced the arrest of a suspected key oil pipeline vandal Ibe Chukwunta.

    The command said he was nabbed at his residence at Nnewe after a gun battle.

    Chukwunta hails from Nenwe in Aninri Local Government Area of the state.

    Items recovered from him included 24 jerry cans of gas, a single-barrel rifle, three bags of Indian hemp, a lighter, two cutlasses and a motorcycle.

    The state commandant, Mr. Stephen Lar-Kaiyo said, “This is the kingpin of pipeline vandals in Enugu State; he provides protection for other vandals at his residence.  We recovered petroleum products and Indian hemp from his home”.

    He said that Chukwunta was well armed and on drugs.

    Lar-Kaiyo said, “He was ready for war. He exchanged fire for fire with our personnel. As you can see, you can see empty shells of ammunition. It was a serious war. But due to the nature of our training on this kind of operation, we were able to overcome him and got him arrested.

    You will wish to know that this arrest was made very early in the morning, around 5am. The products you are seeing here are the vandalised proceeds that the vandal got engaged in. The contents there are up to 900 litres, two bags of Indian hemp to facilitate his illegal operation.

    You can also see a single-barrel gun with which he used to engage our personnel. He was alone when our men swooped on him. Apart from taking part in vandalism operations, he gives protection to the other vandals.

    “It was like when others had left, he remained there with his own products. On storming his personal home, we discovered that his premises were being used to gather so many petroleum products such as these. We were able to get some of these in the vicinity of his house.

    “NSCDC has intensified surveillance on NNPC pipelines, PHCN cables and other critical assets. They will make sure that the economy of this country will not be tampered with as oil is the main source of income in this country, the eagle eye of our men will be on them and they will be caught.”

    Chukwunta claimed he was sleeping with his family when the NSCDC officers broke into his house and collected his hunting gun, adding that he is a hunter and farmer.

    He kept mum when asked to explain the recovery of Indian hemp from his house.

    Short of admitting that he was also an Indian hemp dealer, he admitted consuming the substance. He equally said that the oil he has in his house was red palm oil which he stores and sells when it becomes scarce.

    He claimed it was his kinsmen who took the operatives to his house, but could not give any reason why his relatives pointed the finger at him.

  • 33 suspected vandals held with 330,000 litres of fuel

    33 suspected vandals held with 330,000 litres of fuel

    The Police have arrested 33 suspected vandals and recovered 330,000 litres of fuel from them.

    The fuel, loaded in 10 trucks, was siphoned from National Petroleum Corporation (NNDC) pipelines.

    Commander of the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on pipeline vandalism, Valentine Olumese, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), while handing over the products to NNPC officials, said the arrest and recoveries were made in the last two months in different parts of the country.

    Olumese said the task force would adopt advance and effective techniques in stopping pipeline vandalism without attendant loss of life.

     He said:  “This strategy is paying off immensely and it is aimed at discouraging the vandals. The number of arrest and recoveries made so far, with no bloody confrontation with the vandals has shown that we are winning the war. I want to assure members of the public that we are not going to relent in our efforts, and we will also ensure that those arrested are prosecuted.  As I speak, all the suspects have been arraigned in court and they have been remanded in prison custody. “

    Pipeline and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) Public Relations Officer Imodagde Nasir, who confirmed receipt of the products, said returning of such products was an ongoing process between NNPC and the security agencies.

    Nasir said the recovered products would be returned to the system for decanting, adding that they have received over 80,000 litres and “we are expecting more”.

     “This is not the first time we are receiving stolen petroleum products from security agencies. A few months ago, the Nigerian Navy made huge recoveries from Majidun in Ikorodu and they handed over the products to us and we had them returned into the system for decanting. We all have a collective role to play in the fight against pipeline vandalism.  The act of vandalism has an enormous ecological effect on our society. Every Nigerian must see it as a duty to protect his environment by assisting the security agents in fighting pipeline vandalism,” he said.

  • Vandals Vs Nigerian state

    Vandals Vs Nigerian state

    • Oil thieves’ ambush and killing of 9 DSS operatives are a killing too many. High time these vandals were crushed

    Oil vandals’ wilful murder of security operatives — the latest being the Directorate of State Security (DSS) 9 — is the fatal audacity of a dog in hot pursuit of a wolf: what the Yoruba would call Ajanlekoko. It is high time the Nigerian state cracked down and crushed this criminal scum.

    The murder of the DSS 9, at Konu, a creek border settlement between Ikorodu in Lagos and Arepo in Ogun State, was a climax of such wilful and despicable killings of citizens and security agents. The oil thieves, who don black vests and black pair of trousers, with red bandanas tied round their heads, probably did so, so they could be stealing our collective patrimony in peace.

    The vandals had, on September 16, in the thick of the night, ambushed and shot the nine DSS operatives dead in cold blood — with the mindless vandals carting away the bodies of their victims. That mindless killing put the virtual fear of God — or well, naked fear of the vandals! — in the nearby Oke-Oko community, near Ikorodu, Lagos State, with panicky residents fleeing. The state was well and truly captured in the vandals’ net; and even the bravest of citizens had genuine reasons to fear.

    That DSS killing was reportedly less than six hours, after another set of security agents were felled, by the same suspected thieves, at Ishawo, also in Ikorodu.

    At Arepo, it would appear a standard gory fare, of criminals always breaching pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), routinely killing citizens and security agents alike that dare to stray into their den, and burying them in shallow graves in the surrounding creeks.

    The Nation had a close shave, when one of its photo-journalists, in Arepo to cover a pipeline fire incident, escaped death at the last second, after he had virtually said his last prayers — he, with a professional colleague from another newspaper house.

    Even before, after a particularly gory campaign against security operatives, the police fled the area, virtually conceding it a no man’s land, a Hobbesian jungle, where the oil vandal was king. That has been the setting for this continuous anti-citizen outrage; and these criminals’ devil-may-care contempt for the Nigerian state.

    The question is: when will all this nonsense stop? Right now, we say without any hesitation. The Nigerian state must impose its will on every inch of the Nigerian landscape and, once and for all, give these free-killing criminals a bloody nose, and completely pacify the areas where they perpetuate their heinous crimes.

    But to get the most effective result, planning, cold meticulous planning, is key. For starters, intelligence. That the criminals have struck at will is, perhaps, because of two terrible reasons: intelligence leaks from the security plane; and little or no intelligence glean on the vandals’ enclave.  That should explain criminals ambushing security agents, when the reverse ought to be the case.

    Then there is the absurdity of the secret police storming a crime scene, totting arms. If DSS has to be that visible, then there is something terribly amiss. Let DSS concentrate on its intelligence-gathering business. That is the value it can add to the campaign. If the police are too soft to counter these murderous vandals and the military is too hard, what about a special security outfit — perhaps inside the police or outside of it — like the coast guards in the United States, being formed to take charge of this menace?

    With intelligence leaks blocked and the DSS penetrating the vandals’ haven, neutralising their plans even before they are hatched, smashing this disturbing crime empire can only be a matter of time.

    So, let managers of Nigeria’s security apparatus sit up. The oil vandals’ murderous impunity must not be tolerated for a second more. We must wipe out this collective shame; and safeguard the lives of law abiding citizens against marauding pipeline criminals.

  • Shell: we lost over $50m to oil thieves, vandals in 2014

    Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has said it lost over 110,000 barrels of crude oil, estimated at $5 million in 2014, to oil thieves and pipelines vandals.

    SPDC gave the statistics yesterday at a seminar for reporters in Warri, Delta State.

    The company put its daily crude oil loss to oil theft and pipelines vandalism at 37,000 barrels.

    Its General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli, decried the negative impact that criminal activities had caused the nation’s economy, the environment of oil bearing communities and SPDC’s business in the country.

    Weli said environmental pollution was caused mainly by vandals who burst oil pipes to steal its crude for illegal refinery or sales.

    He said: “An average of 110,000 boe/d (barrels of crude oil per day) was deferred in 2014 due to pipelines interference and other illegal activities.

    “An average of 37,000 barrels crude oil is stolen daily from SPDC JV facilities.”

    Weli recalled that from 2010 to 2014, over 92 per cent of the oil spills from SPDC facilities were caused by thieves and other saboteurs.

    The SPDC spokesman said this posed serious threats to the fresh water and marine environments in Niger Delta because those living in the coastal area could no longer fish or drink the water.

    He said: “It affects surface resources and wide-range of surfaces. Spilled oil can harm the environment in several ways, including damages that directly impact the environment.”

    Weli decried the encroachment of pipelines’ right of way by host communities.

    According to him, it has become a common trend for people to build around locations visibly marked as pipelines’ right of way without recourse.

    The SPDC spokesman blamed the situation on the non-compliance with the Survey Coordination Act of 1962 and a lack of awareness on the implication of living near areas marked as pipelines’ right of way.

    He said: “Ccommercial activities along the right of way (of oil pipelines) are common in urban cities and it should be discouraged.”

    Weli said SPDC would stop incessant oil theft and vandalism of its oil facilities.

     

  • 10 security agents feared killed by vandals in Lagos

    10 security agents feared killed by vandals in Lagos

    Vandals have killed no fewer than 10 security agents in Arepo, Ogun State. Arepo creeks lie between Ogun and Lagos states.

    The killings took place at Isawo in Ikorodu through which the pipelines vandals take their stolen petroleum products.

    There are various accounts of the killings. The Directorate of State Service (DSS) and the police declined to speak on the matter.

    Tuesday’s incident is the latest in the series of killings, police sources said yesterday.

    The DSS operatives were brought into the policing of the pipelines, following the withdrawal of soldiers and military men from internal security duties.

    Besides, pipelines policing was taken away from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the militant group, which got the contract in the dying days of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    A source who spoke in confidence told The Nation that a joint team of military and civil security agents had been deployed in the creeks to flush out the criminals.

    He said the police approached the Navy for help, because gun boats were required to fight the vandals.

    The vandals are well armed and battle-ready. They have been laying ambush for security agents who dared to disrupt their “business”.

    “So many security personnel have been ambushed and killed in the last two weeks by the criminals, who usually take their bodies into the creeks and bury them in shallow graves.

    “The police and NSCDC have not been able to enter the creeks, they fear for their lives because those criminals are well-armed and have informants.

    “Most times some of their members disguise as madmen in the dead of the night, only to feed those siphoning fuel with information on movements in and out of the creeks.

    “During the day, most of them pose as motorcyclists and informing those in the creeks whenever security agents or unknown faces are heading that way.

    “It is possible that was what happened to the security agents on Tuesday because I heard they were ambushed.”

    Another account of what happened, according to an Isawo resident, is that the DSS operatives were confronted by the vandals at a primary school in the area where they went for a function.

    He said: “The vandals thought they had come to attack them because they came in their outfits. There was confusion. They opened fire on them and killed the officers.”

    A police source said the officers were in the community to apprehend the vandals after getting information that they were siphoning petrol from a broken pipeline.

     He said the men were spotted by the vandals who opened fire on them.

    “The vandals usually use the Arepo end of Ogun State to siphon fuel. They have a depot where they sell at Isawo, Ikorodu. It was around 7pm that we were told to close our shops because there would be trouble.

    “We started hearing gunshots at about 7pm. I observed that the men drove out some fuel tankers. As of 8pm  on Tuesday, all shops had been locked.”

    Lagos police spokesman Joseph Offor, said the matter was under investigation.

    He said he could not confirm if those killed were DSS operatives, adding that the secret service was yet to inform the police that its men were involved in the attack.

    He said: “I have called the DPO in Owutu, Ikorodu, he said there were sporadic shootings between vandals and security agents.

    “But he said he could not say if they were DSS personnel and could not also give details on the casualty.

    “He told me the incident happened on Tuesday evening, around 5pm. For now, I know the command has taken over and investigations are ongoing.”

    At the Lagos office of the DSS in Shangisha, all was gloomy yesterday when our correspondent visited. There were no official comments on the incident.

    The spokesman told our reporter on telephone that he was indispossed.

    The state director was said to be attending a “crucial” meeting.

  • Tough time for vandals, kidnappers

    Tough time for vandals, kidnappers

    A security outfit has been set up to end the bloodletting, kidnapping and other violent crimes in Imo State’s oil-producing areas. There is a reason members of the team are drawn from the areas, reports OKODILI NDIDI

    There is little to envy residents of oil-producing areas of Imo State. Their monarchs have fled their thrones for fear of pipeline bloodthirsty cultists, pipeline vandals, kidnappers, among other hoodlums in the areas. Residents who say they have nowhere to run to, have seen their neighbours and relatives killed or robbed, while their communities have remained generally unsafe.

    That was why the Rochas Okorocha administration launched the Niger Delta Security Network (NDSN).

    At its inauguration, Governor, Rochas Okorocha said members of the team have been trained and equipped to stamp out criminalities in the oil producing areas.

    He also said members of the security outfit were recruited from the affected communities in order to enhance its performance. It takes the indigenes of an area to effectively fight crime in their domain, adding that no criminal operation can succeed without an insider who knows the terrain.

    Okorocha sounded a warning to the team, saying,

    “Your duty is to find out the hiding places of these cultists or miscreants who have been terrorising the oil-producing areas of Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta, flush them out and hand them over to the law enforcement agencies for prosecution within three months.

    “There are 250 of you who have been recruited to serve in the security network. You must not involve in any criminal activity yourself. If any of you is caught in any criminal activity, he goes to jail. You must be disciplined. You have been called to serve your people. That is why all of you are from the mentioned oil-producing areas. We believe that those carrying out these cult activities are your people. You flush them out so that the majority of your people can enjoy peace.

    “Recently, the Inspector General of Police emphasised on the need for community policing and even before now, we have been on that page.  It takes those who know the criminals to apprehend them.  The rate of cultism and other crimes in Ohaji, Egbema and Oguta has become worrisome to the government. And we have decided to take the bull by the horn.

    “The activities of these cultists have resulted in the death of innocent people and some traditional rulers have fled their homes to avoid being killed by these cultists.  The state government will no longer tolerate the activities of such miscreants.  We are going to do all within our power to check the ugly situation.  That is the reason for setting up this security network”.

    The governor gave the Security Network 90 days to put an end to the activities of cultists, pipeline vandals, stating that it will be dissolved if it fails to meet the target within the stipulated time.

    The Director General of the organisation, Dr. Justice Harcourt thanked the Governor for the interest he has shown in the development of the oil producing area of the state including the appointment of a son of the area.

  • Vandals ‘kill’ three policemen

    Vandals ‘kill’ three policemen

    •They are missing, say police

    There was confusion yesterday over the fate of three policemen after an encounter with vandals in Ikorodu, Lagos.

    Unconfirmed report said they were killed in gun battle with the vandals. But the police denied the claim, saying the policemen were missing.

    The policemen – an inspector, a sergeant and a corporal – from Owutu Police Station were allegedly killed at Olainukan, Agric in Ikorodu around 6am.

    They were said to have demanded bribe from the vandals.

    Another policeman identified as Yerima was said to have been injured and was rushed to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    It was gathered that the officers, who were on patrol,  were shot by the vandals, who were in a vehicle containing several jerry cans of petrol.

    It was learnt that the 50-litre kegs were hidden under the vehicle’s seats. The fuel was scooped from ruptured pipelines around Ikorodu.

    According to a source, an altercation ensued after the vandals refused the policemen’s demands.

    “The armed vandals opened fire on the patrol van, killing the three policemen on the spot, while two others escaped with bullet wounds,” he said.

    A trader around the police station said he saw stern-looking policemen when he returned from the mosque early on Monday.

    A food vendor said she ran away on hearing sporadic gunshot around 5am.

    “When the gunshot was becoming unbearable I had to run away, abandoning what I was preparing. When everything became clear, I heard that two policemen were killed and the vandals also sustained injuries. We are sitting on gunpowder here in Olainukan, because this is the transit point where black market business thrives. Government should come to our aid,” she said.

    She told The Nation that riot policemen have been parading the area in search of the suspects.

    A police source said some suspects had been arrested, adding that they were being profiled.

    But police spokesperson Patricia Amadin, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), denied that any policeman was killed in the incident.

    She said three officers have been missing since the incident, adding that the command headquarters was aware of the development.

    About seven policemen, she said, were deployed in from the division following information that armed militants had infiltrated the area.

    “At about 3am, we got information that some armed militants were heading towards the direction and the division was put on alert.

    “On sighting the policemen, the vandals opened fire but no policeman was killed. At the moment, three of the seven policemen who went on the mission have reported at the command while three others are still missing,” she said.

  • ‘We miraculously escaped death’

    ‘We miraculously escaped death’

    Photo journalists abducted by oil vandals relieve their ordeals in the hands of pipeline vandals and how they narrowly escaped death.

  • Many feared killed as vandals’ clash causes explosion in Arepo

    Many suspected vandals were on Wednesday feared killed after a gun duel between two groups caused pipeline explosion in Arepo, Ogun State.
    The incident which occurred at the wee hours of Wednesday, led to the shutting down of supplies on the pipeline by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
    The incident is coming few weeks after the federal government suspended the contract awarded the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) by the past administration to secure the facility.
    The fire is was learnt, broke out in the canal where the vandals steal petroleum products and spread into the pipelines.
    At the time of filing this report, the actual casualty figure could not be confirmed, as rescue workers were yet to gain access into the scene for fear of being killed.
    It was learnt that neither the Police nor the Niger‎Ian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) responsible for the protection of the facility were on ground.
    A source told The Nation that the security agencies have since absconded their duty there, adding that emergency workers said they cannot enter the canal where the fire was raging because of lack of protection.
    ‎Although rescue workers alleged that the scene is about two kilometres from residential area and doubted the possibility of innocent citizens being victims, unconfirmed reports claimed that over 100 persons might have died in the mishap.