JTF Arrests 2 Pipeline Vandals, 3 Suspected Oil Thieves In Delta

Operatives of the Joint Military Taskforce, otherwise known as men of the 222 Battalion, Operation Pulo Shield – Agbarha-Otor, Ughelli in Delta State, in the early hours yesterday arrested two pipeline vandals, and three suspected oil thieves for allegedly vandalizing a pipeline belonging to the Nigeria Agip Oil Company(NAOC) in Kwale, Delta State.

Confirming the arrest of the suspects, an officer attached to JTF, Major Dele Makoju, said the suspects were part of syndicates involved in cutting of oil company pipelines in the area, adding that they were arrested and handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for further prosecution.

He said that items recovered from the scene of the vandalized pipeline, included two oxygen cylinders, acetylene cylinders, cutting nozzles, welding hoses and a GSM mobile phone.

Speaking further, the JTF officer explained that the suspects made confessional statements linking them to some NAOC staff including one Ogadie (surname withheld) of the surveillance department of the company who guided them to already marked areas of the pipeline to be vandalized.

Advertise here