A 3 million litres of crude reservoirs used by oil thieves in Rivers State has been uncovered by the 6 Division, Nigerian Army.
Nigeriacrime.com gathered that the Army discovered in a forest in Odagwa Community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, where a coordinated bunkering business with several sites is said to be thriving for several years.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division, Nigerian Army/ Land Component Commander, Joint Task Force, South-South, Operation Delta Safe, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, who led the operation on Thursday, noted that even with helicopter or drones, it would be difficult to discover the level of illegality existing in that forest.
Abdussalam revealed that the discovery was made possible based on discreet intelligence which led to locating over 14 reservoirs containing over 200,000 litres of crude oil each.
He said: “The idea of this movement is to let Nigeria and Nigerians know exactly what is happening. This place is forested, even from the air using helicopters and drones, you will not be able to see what we saw on the ground.
“Based on credible intelligence which led us to this location, we have discovered so many illegalities taking place here. We have seen over 14 reservoirs which can contain upward of 200,000 litres of crude, in this bush.
“We also discovered about 49 boilers which are capable of processing crude oil all located inside this forest. And you have seen the network of pipes and cables and other tools connected around the whole area.
“The crude we discovered in this site is in excess of the daily crude export of Nigeria, which is very pathetic and very sad. Outside this bridge, we have a lot of wellheads, most of them are not in use. It is from these well heads that these our people (bunkerers) put pipes and siphon this crude oil.”
The GOC, however, vowed that the military would sustain the fight against economic sabotage, assuring that the key players in the illegalities would be tracked.
“Few arrests have been made; but, those arrested are not the key players in this business. They are labourers. The main players have not been caught; but, now that we have discovered this place, with proper intelligence and investigation, we are going to apprehend them.
“This discovery is part of our efforts to ensure that the federal government gets what is due to it. The budget has been passed by the National Assembly and assented to by Mr. President. And it has become law.