By: Admin
An Investigative report by a group known as the Coalition for Human Rights and Good Governance has exonerated the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Rivers State of allegations of oil bunkering leveled against him by the Governor of the state, Nyesom Wike.
The governor had recently accused Jamil Sarham, the General Officer Commanding of the Nigeria Army 6 Division in Port Harcourt, of raising a team of soldiers to steal and sell petroleum products in the region.
According to Wike, “The GOC has his own team now doing oil bunkering for him because he wants to be chief of army staff”.
But the Nigerian Army had severally said the claims by Wike were false and a deliberate effort to tarnish the towering image of the Chief of Army Staff and the GOC 6 Division.
Similarly, the latest report by the human right group, said there was no truth in the claim by Governor Wike.
The report which was released on Tuesday and signed by its Executive Director, Shima Atoka, said the crux of the issues the Governor had with the GOC 6 Division, Major General Jamil Sarham started after the GOC turned down the request by the governor for a private meeting.
The report further revealed that the accusation that the GOC is involved in oil bunkering is far from the truth as there are no such operations spearheaded or supported by the Nigerian Army in the South-South region.
The report states in part that, “the result of the investigations conducted by the Coalition of Human Rights and Good Governance indicates that all the allegations levelled against the GOC, Major General Jamil Sarham were false and targeted at the image of the GOC for turning down the monetary offers from the Rivers state government”.
“The accusation that the GOC is involved in oil bunkering is far from the truth as there are no such operations spearheaded or supported by the Nigerian Army in the South-South region”.
“Instead, the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Rivers State under Major General Jamil Sarhem, has helped to reduce incidents of institutionalized crime such as kidnapping, armed robbery, and oil bunkering in Rivers State”.
“The activities of the Nigerian Army in the South-South region has helped the government a great deal in reducing the loss of revenue to the federal government by constantly engaging militants engaged in oil theft and the vandalization of critical government oil assets”.
“The officers and soldiers of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army have remained very professional in the discharge of their duties and have been instrumental to the arrest and forwarding to the Police for the prosecution of militants and oil bunkers in the region”.
