The Nigerian Navy said on Tuesday said it had
apprehended the coordinator of series of attacks on the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Chevron oil and gas facilities in Delta.
The
Commander, NNS Delta, Commodore Raimi Mohammed, disclosed this to newsmen at
the Warri Naval Base, adding that the suspect was apprehended on June 2.
Mohammed,
who presented the suspect alongside others allegedly involved in the act of
vandalism and criminal activities in the maritime sector, described the arrest
as a major breakthrough.
He,
however, said the identity of the suspect would not be disclosed now.
“I
am pleased to announce that after several weeks of persistent effort the
Nigerian Navy, in collaboration with other security agencies, have arrested the
main coordinator of attacks on NNPC and Chevron oil and gas facilities.
“The
attacks were the bombing we witnessed since May 4 with the attack on Chevron
Okan valve platform offshore in Escravos in Warri South-West.
“We
have recovered some Impoverished Explosive Devices (IED) for blowing up and
vandalising pipelines.
“We
have decided not to give out the name of the suspect because he is helping us
with useful information that could lead to the arrest of others,’’ Mohammed
said.
The
Commander said the suspect was deeply involved in pipeline vandalism and crude
oil theft, saying that his arrest came after several weeks of trailing and
arrest of some of his foot-soldiers.
“The
suspect has stolen crude oil from about 35 abandoned oil well heads and crude
oil pipelines in Okpoko and Obodo in Warri South-West Local Government Area,’’
he said.
Mohammed
also said that the navy had apprehended another suspect identified as Michael
John, who allegedly murdered three soldiers in Jones creek and one soldier and
a policeman in Batan community.
“The
suspect has confessed to the crime,’’ he said. The commander also said that
another suspect was being quizzed for alleged involvement in the June 3 attack
on the 48 inches crude oil pipeline in Forcados oil terminal.
The
crude oil pipeline is operated by Shell Petroleum and Development Company
(SPDC) at Ogulagha in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta.
He
said the suspect had provided useful information that would facilitate the
arrest of the other culprits by the Command.
While
commending the Delta Government for its cooperation, Mohammed assured that the
navy would continue to protect the nation’s territorial waterways.
Items
recovered from the suspects included rolls of cables, two car batteries, three
Shovels, Hammers, Saw, suspected dynamites, cutlass, among others.
Comments
Post a Comment