By Lateef Adegbite
Government Ekpemupolo, popular, Tompolo, whose security Company, Delta Security Services Limited, hadwon a N48 billion, pipeline Surveillance contract from President Muhammadu Buhari Administration, last August, to stop the activities of the oil thieves and illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta region, appears to have forced, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps,, NSCDC, to be alive to their duties in checking the oil thieves in the Creeks.
With the recent discovery of 58 oil points in the Delta, home state, of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Vice Presidential Candidate of Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, for the 2023, general elections, who incidentally is the governor of the state and Bayela, home state of Temipre Sylver, minister of State, Petroleum Resources, may have forced NSCDC, to wake up.
The NSCDC, operatives, may have taken advantage of the fact that the Tompolo’s group are yet to start their own operation in the Rivers state to excavate the illegal oil points in the state used by the oil thieves to scoop oil from Crude lines lines to feel the vacuum.
Coming on the heels of the discovery of 58 oil points in the two Niger Delta states of Delta and Rivers, may have encouraged the Leadership of NSCDC, River state Command field officials to intensify their operation in the state to excavate the illegal oil points and bunkering sites in the state.
This may have led to the, discovery of a vast dump site in storing stolen Crude oil and illegally refined diesel, Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, Petrol and Kerosene, in Agbada Community, in Ikwerre Local government Area of the state. Note that Gov. Nyeson Wike and Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state, hail from Ikwerre Local government Area.
Wike, the no nonsense governor of Rivers state may have made efforts in the last two years to stop the oil thieves in the state but lamented that ‘’it is difficult to do so because some security personnel were involved’. He was emphatic that the government’s efforts to fight the oil thieves and bunkerers in the state have continued to fail because some ‘’top ranking military officers were deeply involved’’ but that was how far he could go.
The discovery of ten plots of fenced Crude oil and Petroleum products, dump site , which was said to have over 179 surface industrial tanks of 1,000 litres each and two metal storage tanks of about 5,5000 litres, capacity of petrol, ,believed to be less than two kilometers from the Agbada Flow Station operated by Heirs Holding Oil and Gas, owned by Tony Elumelu, who incidentally is Chairman, United Bank of Africa, UBA PC, speaks volume.
Given an insider information on the discovery of the dump site, Michael Ogar, NSCDC, Commandant , in Rivers state, had revealed that the premises was discovered by the Command’s Anti vandal Unit, following Credible informations. Ogar’s major concern was ‘’the proximity of the dump site to the Abada Flow Station ‘’.
The NSCDC, Team, which had raided the Agbada dump site, were said to arrested four person, working at the dump site at the time of the invasion including the supervisor and gatekeeper, who are said to be helping the Command in Rivers state in their investigation to fish out the owner of the multti-billion aaira, illegal business, believed to have been going on in the Community for years and unknown to the residents.
Many believe that with the discovery of the vast acre of land Crude oil and Petroleum Products, dump site, in Agbada Community, Ikwerre, LGA, by officials of NSCDC, in Rivers state Command, has sent a message to the oil thieves that it is no longer going to business as usual.
For now the Agbada Community, dump site, according to a resident, had been sealed by the Rivers state of the NSCDC, as its personnel had taken over control premises to ensure that that the oil thieves would not have access to it.
Indeen, the discovery of the Agbada dump site, in Ikwerre LGA, used in storing stolen Crude oil, scoped from Crude lines and illegally refined products, may have emboldened Ogar, the Commandant, DSCDC, Rivers state, to give his words, of their commitment ‘’to crush the oil thieves and illegal bunkerers in the state.
Recall that the Senate Committee on Crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region, had recently visited the Agbada Flow station as part of its field investigation into the menace in the Niger Delta. Bola Bode, Vice President, Heirs Oil and Gas, was said to have told the Committee that the 55,000b/d, capacity production capacity , has not produced a single barrel since May, this year, which he had blamed on the activities of the oil thieves and pipeline vandalisation in the Agbada Area.
Ogar and his men, may have sent fear, in the mind of the oil thieves, in the state, as his men were said to have arrested 16 of the oil thieves in different locations in the state over alleged ‘’involvement in oil theft and illegal dealings in petroleum Products’’. Eight of the suspects were said to have been arrested by Naval personnel in the Creeks while the remaining eight others suspects were said to have been arrested by the Command’s anti-vandal Land Patrol Team. The 16, suspects were said to have been paraded on Televisison, exposing them to the public.
Ogar, the NSCDC, Commandant in Rivers state, disclosed that in the month of September, 2022, the renewed fight against the oil thieves, y the NSCDC operatives had had continued to yield result. The NSCDC, Rivers state Command, field operatives were said to have arrested over 40 oil thieves, Out of the figure, Ogar, confirmed that 30, of the have been taken to Court as they were caught with 200,000 litres of illegally refined Petroleum Products, which were loaded in trucks, vehicles and wooden boats.
While the oil thieves in Rivers are no longer finding it funny in the hands of the NSCDC, operatives, forcing many of them to go into hiding, Tompolo and his group, are dealing with those vandalizing olpipelines to scoop oil in Crude lines in Delata and Bayelsa states.
The Tompolo group had arrested eight members of a suspected oil syndicate recently. The suspects were found scooping oil from a Chevron Poducing Nigeria unlimited pipeline ibetween Abiteye Community and Escravos in Warri South Local Government Area ofDelta state. The scooped oil was said to have been pumped to an improvised 87 metre long ocean going vessel MT. Deino. The oil thieves vessel was said to have been frequenting the Niger Delta Creeks over the years and illegally loading Crude oil from Nigeria to Ghana.
With the NSCDC renewed fight against the oil thieves in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa statesa, by NSCDC and Delta Security Services Limited floated by Tompolo, operatives, the oil thieves, and their sponsors days in the Niger Delta region are numbered, which should gladden the heart of Nigerians.
Energy experts believe that this is not the best of time for the oil thieves and their sponsors including their security personnel Collaborators who have been having good times over the years as they could no longer operate freely in the Creeks or Communities to scoop oil in Crude lines as the NSDC and Delta Security Services operatives, a private security owned by the one-time Niger Delta militant , who knows the nooks and crannies of the Creeks in the region are after them.
