The Rivers State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Basil Igwebueze has reiterated his command’s war against illegal oil bunkering activities and other crimes in Rivers State.
Igwubueze stated this after he led journalist round an illegal bunkering site at Umuechem in Etche local council of the state.
The commandant lamented that in spite of the continuous fight against oil theft some unscrupulous elements are determined not to repent in sabotaging the nation’s economy.
He said the command based on credible intelligence took actionable step to cordon the area where the illegal local refinery was constructed.
“We got a credible intelligence that there is an illegal oil refinery site under construction at Umuechem in Etche Local Government Area.
A statement by the Public Relation Officer, SC Olufemi Ayodele said the Command Anti-vandal Unit took a proactive step and swung into action by capturing the environment to forestall all activities of illegal dealings in petroleum products in the area.
“As you can see this illegal refinery is located in a thick bush showing how defiant and desperate the oil thieves can be. Recall that the activities of local refiners have often led to environmental degradation, pollution and health hazards and we will not tolerate that henceforth,” he said.
The Rivers NSCDC commandant said under his watch the command would continue to solicit for more sustained and credible intelligence that would assist in nipping at the bud such nefarious activities.
He further assured that the informants would be adequately protected even as the command keep waging war against oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in Rivers State.
The following were seen at the illegal refinery site: Two (2) 20,000 litres capacity Receiver open Tank, Two (2) 25,000 litres Cooking Oven (Pot) and Two (2) 4 inches galvanized pipes of about 400 meters in length.
