By: Emmanuel Nlewedum
Lifeless body of a man suspected to be member of a 5-man gang involved in illegal oil bunkering was Tuesday, discovered in the Agip/Eagle Island river leading to Mgbuodohia community, Rumuolumeni in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State.
Port Harcourt Spectator gathered that the gang members had earlier claimed to be working with a vessel stationed on the river.
A source who spoke on anonymity told our correspondent that the bunkerers had engaged in their illegal oil business as usual, but on sighting men of the Nigerian Navy on patrol, they dived into the river for fear of arrest.
According to him, luck ran out of one of them as he drown in the process as he could not swim.
The deceased is said to be in his late thirties.
“The guys were doing their normal oil bunkering business when they saw the naval officers on patrol, they were afraid of being arrested so they jumped into the river.
“The other four persons have escaped but this other man could not escape maybe because he doesn’t know how to swim. So he drowned”, the source said.
The decomposing corpse of the deceased we learnt, has since been lowered by the bank of the river by yet unidentified persons.
The police and naval commands in the state were yet to comment on the incidence at the time of this report.
