The Department of State Services, DSS, has said it arrested the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Ifeanyi Ubah, for allegedly stealing, diverting and illegally selling petroleum products stored in his tank farm by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

In a statement released on Saturday and signed by Tony Opuiyo on behalf of the DSS, the Service described Ubah’s actions as “acts of economic sabotage” and “economic crimes of national security dimension.”

The oil magnate, who is also the owner of Ifeanyi Ubah Football Club in the Nigerian Professional Football League, NPFL, was arrested on Friday, May 5.

“So far, it has been established that the products stolen amount to over Eleven Billion Naira (N11bn),” the DSS statement read, adding that “there is no doubt that UBAH’s acts have the capacity to negatively impact on national economy.”

Also the DSS accused the former Anambra State governorship candidate of engaging in “other activities inimical to national security and public order” as he “incited members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), a critical player in the downstream sub-sector of the Petroleum Industry, to refuse/stop the lifting of products.”

According to the Service, Ubah planned to use the protest by the PTD as a means of “arm-twisting the NNPC to abandon the cause of recovering the stolen products.”

“It is consequent upon this that the Service arrested and will prosecute him forthwith,” it stated.

The DSS reiterated that it will continue to collaborate with appropriate agencies “to ensure that the mischievous activities of any person or group(s) to engage in illegal activities will not affect the effective distribution of (petroleum) products across the country.

“It will also support such agencies to bring to book individuals or companies involved in any criminal act that undermines the nation’s economy.”