…Communities demand probe of military units involved in crude theft
Notwithstanding the posturing of the government to stem the mounting tide of oil theft in the Niger Delta region, the illicit but money spinning trade has continued to thrive with the involvement of the Joint Military Task Force and Nigerian Navy, Pointblanknews.com can authoritatively reveal.
Indications have emerged that security operatives under the aegis of the Joint Task Force (JTF), posted to the creeks to police the pipelines are aiding and abetting the criminal arrangement.
Findings have shown that despite the fact that a military house boat and gunboat are stationed at every 5 kilometer radius in the waterways, in between this radius are illegal bunkering camps.
Apart from the JTF, the Nigerian Navy has the primary duty to provide adequate security on the waterways but from findings, the reverse is the case as some of the Navy outposts are few nautical miles from the illegal bunkering camps.
For instance, even with the Forward Operations Base of the Navy at Escravos, yet the axis has remained the busiest areas in illegal bunkering activities, including Southern Ijaw, Nun River in Bayelsa, Ogoniland, Okirika in Rivers, Ibeno in Akwa Ibom, among others.
Sources confided in our reporter that the JTF charges between N250,000.00 to N500,000.00 to allow free access to Cotonou-bound boats laden with crude oil and other refined products depending on the size of the boat.
The wooden boat could hold up to 33,000 litres and above of crude or refined production especially diesel.
According to the source, one of the major reasons why the Niger Delta region has been militarized is because of the juicy profits top military brass and the JTF personnel in the creeks are making from illegal oil transaction.
‘’The JTF should be held responsible for illegal bunkering activities and destruction of our environment by the JTF. Do you know within every four to five kilometers’ radius are military personnel securing the pipelines?
And within this compass are illegal bunkering camps. And this illegal business is done under their nose because of what they get; they give protection to these boys to carry on with their dubious activities. This is appalling’’, our source said.
A repentant illegal bunker, who simply identified himself as Peretomode, also accused the JTF of creating unnecessary tension apparently so that they could continue to benefit from illegal bunkering and called on Buhari’s administration to extend the anti-corruption war to the task
force with a view to probing their activities in the region.
‘’I can say without fear or favour that the JTF personnel in the region, have been compromised by the illegal bunkerers and their barons, which explains why they are always scrambling to be posted to the region by their godfathers in Abuja’’, he said.
Spokesman of JTF, Colonel Isa Ado, could not be reached for comment on the allegations leveled against the JTF.
Meanwhile, a Niger Delta environmental activist, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, has denounced the illegal bunkering activities in the region.
According to him, these activities have destroyed the entire ecosystem and further brought hardship on the people as their traditional occupations of farming and fishing have been eroded.
He called on the federal government to come to the aid of the people to give them a sense of belonging by extending the clean up to the entire Niger Delta region so as to restore the region to its pristine nature.
Culledfrompointblanknews
