The Nigerian Army, yesterday, handed over a vessel suspected to have
been used for oil theft and 25 suspects to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, for prosecution. The vessel, MT Swordfish, comprising two
barges, was arrested by soldiers for engaging in oil theft and economic crimes
against Nigeria. Apart from confiscating the vessel, the soldiers also arrested
the three crew members and two staff of the Liberty Jetty Elegbata, Marina,
Lagos, where the vessel was detained. The soldiers also arrested 20 other
suspects in connection with the oil theft and detained them along with the crew
members. On Monday, Col. H. I. Dasuki of the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army
formally handed over the vessel and the 25 suspects to the EFCC for further investigation
and prosecution. The crew members were: Akume Surprise (Captain), Boglo
Babatunde Peter, ThankGod Obozuruike; Korlee Uebari; Francis Eze; Gaius Ike;
Peter James; Hafeez Jalaruru, Olajumoke Sulaiman, Kelvin Ajike, Abdulraham Kareem, Oluwaseun Owoade
and Ifeanyi Lawrence. Others were: Alhassan Hoseli, Kennedy Adoge, Bello
Taofik, Ibrahim Ajibade, Ibrahim Yakubu, Nafiu Useni, Kenneth Osei, Annas
Mohammed, Ibrahim Mohammed, Hamisu Saidu, Sulaiman Musa and Umar Mohammed. The
army also handed over six trucks seized from the suspects as exhibits to the
anti-graft agency. Col. Dasuki, while handing over the vessel and crew to the
Commission said the arrest was made at about 0400hrs on 22 May, 2013, following
intelligence report. According to him, the arrest was made by men and officers
of “OP MESA” who raided the Liberty Jetty, Marina. Dasuki urged the Commission
to carry out further investigation on the source of the petroleum products and
the operations of the vessel. Receiving the hand-over documents, Mr. Aliyu
Aminu, Head, Counter-Terrorism and General Investigations, EFCC Zonal Office,
Lagos, assured that the Commission would do its best in investigating the case.
A sample of the product was taken by operatives of the Commission for analysis.
Oil theft in and around Nigeria’s vast water has become a major source of
economic loss to the country. Militants in the Niger Delta, aided and abetted
by top-ranking Nigerian politicians and businessmen, depend on oil theft for
their livelihood, claiming that the natural resource is their God-given wealth.
The government claims oil theft has blossomed in recent months, leading to a
significant drop in national revenue
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