The Nigerian Navy on Friday handed over four suspected oil thieves to the Lagos State Police Command.
The Commander, NNS Beecroft, Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga, during the handing over of the suspects at the state police headquarters in Ikeja said they were arrested by men of the Nigerian Navy stationed at FOB Lekki after residents raised the alarm following gunshots from the waterside.
Oguntuga noted that the men were part of an escort of a large wooden boat conveying 11,000 litres of crude oil suspected to have been stolen by the group.
Responding, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Idowu Owohunwa, said, “We will take in the suspects, we will take in the exhibits and we’ll work with the Navy to get to the root of this and to ensure that justice is done.”
In a related development, the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Delta, on Friday, handed over an impounded vessel, MT TECHNE, with alleged stolen crude oil worth 1,905,836 MT to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The Commander, NNS Delta, Commodore Chindo Yahaya, represented by the Executive Officer, Capt. Solomon Paul, handed over the vessel to the EFCC at the NNS Delta Jetty in Warri, Delta State.
He told journalists at the brief ceremony that the vessel was impounded over illegal bunkering on April 25, 2017.
He further explained that “preliminary investigation report on the arrest of the vessel revealed that at the time of arrest, the vessel had about 1,905,836MT of alleged stolen crude oil”.
A representative of the EFCC, Port-Harcourt Office, Lawan Ado, who took delivery of the vessel, promptly handed it over to Adetokunbor Arowojolu, a representative of Showboy Integrated Company Limited, the buyer of the vessel.
Speaking with newsmen, Ado said after a successful investigation, the EFCC secured the forfeiture.
“We auctioned it to Showboy Integrated Company Limited, the buyer”, he said.
