Oil theft: NSCDC arrests three women

The Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has arrested three suspects for vandalisation of oil pipelines, oil theft and illegal dealings in petroleum products at Umuodo, Umuajuloke community in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State.

In a statement on Sunday, CSC Babawale Afolabi, Public Relations Officer at the NSCDC national headquarters in Abuja, said the arrest was made possible through sustained intelligence that an illegal oil refinery was sited at the crime scene. He added that many illegally refined petroleum products suspected of Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, were discovered.

“Based on credible intelligence, we swung into action and arrested three suspects at the crime scene with large quantities of illegally refined AGO already stored inside metallic drums while others were inside cellophane bags,” he said.

The arrested suspects, all women, were identified as Happiness Nwankwo, 45, an indigene of Omuma in Rivers State; Nnoma Nwankwo, 30, also from Rivers State; and Favour Amadi, also an indigene of Omuma.

“Some exhibits recovered at the point of arrest are numerous drum ovens containing stolen and siphoned crude oil undergoing processing, industrial hoses used to tap into wellheads to syphon crude oil, large quantities of stolen crude oil stored inside cellophane bags and kegs, many metal and plastic buckets, wheelbarrows, shovels and galvanised metal pipes,” the statement said.

According to the statement, an investigation has commenced to unravel the involvement of the 3 suspects and the identities of their sponsors, and those found culpable at the end of the investigation would be charged in court.