THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Akwa Ibom says it has seized 150 smuggled drums of petrol and arrested two suspects.
The suspects were arrested on Thursday, March 9 by the Marine unit of the command on the high seas as they were conveying the products in a wooden boat en route Cameroon.
Disclosing this today in Uyo while briefing newsmen, the NSCDC Commandant in Akwa Ibom, Yusuf Imam, said the unit also seized five engines and one pumping machine used to steal petroleum products.
Imam said the suspects would be charged in court as soon as the investigation was completed.
The commandant said, “The Marine Unit of the NSCDC arrested two suspects and impounded 150 drums of PMS (petrol) conveyed in a large wooden boat on the high seas in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
“The arrests and subsequent impounding of the exhibits took place in the early hours of Thursday.
“Acting on credible intelligence, the NSCDC Marine Squad, led by Jamilu Mohammed Adamu, hit the waterways with the corps’ gunboat, chased, and intercepted the boat very close to the Atlantic Ocean while the suspects were attempting to smuggle petrol into Cameroon.”
Imam warned that the corps would not tolerate crime on its waterways and would meet all acts of economic sabotage and vandalism in the state with the full weight of the law.
“It’s not going to be business as usual in my time. I am here to work, and you can expect to see more of this as we will make Akwa Ibom a living hell for vandals, illegal bunkerers and oil thieves,” he said.
He stressed that NSCDC operatives would not relent in the fight against oil theft, which “has robbed the country of enormous revenue.”
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M