The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has discovered two illegal bunkering sites in Rivers State.
A statement by the NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi on Monday, disclosed that the sites were located at Odagwa-Owaza riverside boundaries of Rivers and Abia while the other was at Etche local government area of Rivers State.
Afolabi said that the Commandant-General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CGsSIS) discovered the illegal connections following an intelligence report.
“The illegal connections were made to siphon oil from well heads, using very huge hoses laid and buried underground in a thick forest at Odagwa/Owaza Riverside boundaries of Rivers and Abia.
“And another site at Odagwa in Etche area of Rivers where vandals tampered with valves of the manifold and siphoned crude at Imo River 2, oil and gas flow station operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Commission (NPDC).
“During the operation, we observed that the first local refining site had been earlier destroyed by security agencies but was later rebuilt,” he said.
According to him, some of the exhibits recovered were one new yellow colour Robin EY 20 Pumping machine, blue colour heavy-duty hoses, over 5,000 litres of locally refined petroleum products in cellophane bags and reservoir.
Also recovered were about 10,000 litres of kerosene (AGO) stored in a cooking oven, two shovels and spades, buckets, and four flash headlights.
CG’s SIS Commander, Dandaura Appolos, has reaffirmed the corps’ commitment to waging a relentless war against oil theft across the nation.
“Let me at this point reassure the public that the NSCDC remains committed to her statutory mandate as the lead agency in safeguarding all critical national assets and infrastructure across the nation.
“The Intelligence Department has commenced thorough investigation into the matter and the suspects in custody are currently assisting us in the ongoing investigation,” the commander said.