Economic Sabotage: Navy apprehends 24 illegal oil bunkers in Ondo

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

For allegedly engaging in crude oil theft and illegal bunkering as forms of economic sabotage, personnel of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base at Igbokoda, in Ondo State, have arrested 24 suspects at Abereke, a riverine community in the oil-producing Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.

Captain Shuaib Ahmed, Commanding Officer of the Naval Base, who disclosed this to journalists Sunday, January 17, 2021, said the suspects were arrested January 12 by a patrol team at sea along Ondo-Lagos route offshore Mahin.

Naval operatives seize barrels of stolen crude from oil thieves   Photo: File

Ahmed said the patrol team apprehended the suspects with six boats containing thousands of litres of Automotive Gas Oil otherwise known as Diesel Oil, empty drums, empty GP tanks, pumping machines, outboard engines and generating sets.

The Commanding Officer appealed to the general public, especially the communities where the base operates to assist in providing meaningful information in curbing all forms of economic sabotage such as crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, kidnapping and piracy.

Joseph Ayeni and Kayode Omotehinse, two of the suspects, confessed to committing the crime, Channels TV report stated.

They regretted their actions and pleaded for forgiveness, saying they were driven into the crime due to unemployment.

Some residents of Abereke community in the state also condemned illegal bunkering.

The residents, however, appealed to the government to provide job opportunities for the youths to prevent them from getting involved in criminal activities, stated the report.