JTF Seizes Vessel Laden With Stolen Crude, Arrests 12

Leadership

19 August 2011

JTF Seizes Vessel Laden With Stolen Crude, Arrests 12

... The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) has seized a vessel loaded with illegal crude along the River Nun in the high sea of Brass Local Government of Bayelsa State.

Twelve persons including a woman were arrested for their involvement in the illegal lifting of crude oil from vandalized oil pipelines along the waterways and creeks of the Niger Delta.

The seized vessel, known as MT Victor One, was conveying over 400 metric tonnes of substances suspected to be crude oil.

Spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col. Timothy Atingha. who led reporters to Brass LGA in Bayelsa State to inspect the vessel said “another two batches of Cotonou boats containing a large quantity of illegally refined AGO popularly known as diesel was also arrested.”

Atinga said that the JTF was also working on ways to ensure that the sponsors of the illegal oil bunkering and refineries are arrested.

He said: “What we normally do is when we finish our preliminary investigation, we will hand them over with their exhibits to either the EFCC or the Police and we do hope that they would take it up from there because we do not have the powers to prosecute the suspects.”

On the recent critics clamoring for the withdrawal of JTF men from the Niger Delta, Lt. Col. Antigha stressed that “the mandate of the force exceeds act of militancy, which had been reduced to zero level in the region to include the effective security nation’s crude oil, pipelines and other critical installations.