•An illegal bunkering site in Rivers State
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps said its operatives have uncovered a warehouse used in storing stolen crude oil in Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Corps said the crude is believed to have been stolen from vandalised pipelines and stored in GP tanks, preparatory for the next illegal step.
The Public Relations Officer of the NSCDS, Rivers State Command, Ihemnacho Umeado, disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt today.
While noting that the quantity of the product discovered has not yet been ascertained, the state NSCDS image maker said the feat followed several days of credible intelligence gathering before operatives stormed the scene.
The statement partly reads, “Operatives of the Anti Vandal Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Rivers State Command, have uncovered a vast isolated confinement, situated in Igwuruta, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, warehousing an unquantifiable quantity of substances suspected to be stolen crude oil from vandalised pipelines, stored in GP tanks.
“This discovery took several days of credible intelligence gathering before subsequent and swift raiding of the crime scene.”
The state NSCDC Commandant, Joachin Okafor, who visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment, reiterated that the Corps has zero tolerance for illegal bunkering activities
in whatever guise.
Okafor emphasised that the command under his watch in the state will leave no stone unturned in tracking and arresting perpetrators of such acts of economic sabotage, no matter how highly placed.
He decried the adverse effect of such illicit activities on the well-being of the country and the negative environmental consequences of illegal bunkery activities on its biodiversity.
The State Commandant, therefore, warned vandals to steer clear of the State or be prepared to face the full weight of the law.
Okafor further directed the Corps’ Intelligence Department to launch a comprehensive investigation aimed at unravelling the source of the exhibit and unmasking the perpetrators for possible arrest and prosecution.
Recall that in 2024, operatives of the NSCDC busted an illegal oil dump site and impounded a truck laden with adulterated petroleum products in Igbo-Etche in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Okafor said the crude oil was stored in over 70 tanks at an abandoned construction site in Egbo-Etche.
