The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta has arrested 14 suspects for illegal bunkering off the coast of Brass Island in Bayelsa.
JTF Media Coordinator, Lt.-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, stated this on Wednesday at a news briefing in Brass.
He said the security outfit also impounded an ocean going vessel, ‘MV Princess Nnenna’ from the suspects.
Nwachukwusaid that the operation was carried out by officers of the 343 battalion, Sector two of the JTF command.
The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta has arrested 14 suspects for illegal bunkering off the coast of Brass Island in Bayelsa.
JTF Media Coordinator, Lt.-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, stated this on Wednesday at a news briefing in Brass.
He said the security outfit also impounded an ocean going vessel, ‘MV Princess Nnenna’ from the suspects.
Nwachukwusaid that the operation was carried out by officers of the 343 battalion, Sector two of the JTF command.
He said that its operatives led by Lt. – Col. Muktar Adamu, Commanding Officer of the 343 Battalion , intercepted the vessel about 1p.m. on Sunday at Manson Creek, off Brass Island.
The JTF spokesman said at the time of the arrest, the vessel was loading illegally refined diesel and stolen crude oil from local boats belonging to crude oil thieves.
“On the 24th of June, 2012, our operatives on routine patrol on the waterways against illegal refinery and oil bunkering intercepted this vessel, ‘Princess Nnenna’ while loading illegally refined diesel and crude from seven local “cotonu” boats at Manson creek in Brass Island,” Nwachukwu said.
The JTF spokesman stated that its operatives impounded the vessel, arrested the suspects onboard and subsequently destroyed the local boats being used by the local oil thieves, who escaped into the creek.
He said a woman, named Hajia Ladi, had contracted the vessel belonging to Magnum International Limited to carryout illegal oil transaction in the creeks rather than going to the authorised loading terminal in Brass.
Nwachukwu said that the JTF command arrested the lady contractor, Ladi, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, when they both came to the Command headquarters in Yenagoa .
He said that unlike previous operations, the command would not destroy the vessel, but rather would hand over the vessel and its crew to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.
He, however, urged the media to follow up the course of justice in the matter by focusing on the issue to ensure that the EFCC carried out its task of prosecuting the case successfully.
“The JTF is not the prosecuting authority; we don’t have the mandate to prosecute.”” he said.
In an interview, the Captain of the Vessel, Captain James Ofoetsoye, acknowledged that there was no official permit to load from the creek.
He said that the vessel had travelled from Lagos to Brass Island on the instruction of Ladi that it should go to the creek to load crude oil.
“I was directed by Hajia Ladi, who sent a worker to follow us and ensure that we go to the Creek to load crude oil.
“Maybe the company felt that loading from the creek was the cheapest way for them, I can’t really say, “the captain further stated.
Ofoetsoye, however, stated that the crew had only succeeded in loading about 3, 500 litres of crude oil from the local boats oil dealers before they were intercepted by the JTF operatives.
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