The Joint Task Force (JTF) operating in the Niger
Delta said that it arrested a vessel laden with 1,000 tonnes of crude oil off
the coast of Bonny Island in Rivers State.
It paraded nine suspected crew members, all of them Nigerians, before journalists in Bonny.
It paraded nine suspected crew members, all of them Nigerians, before journalists in Bonny.
The Two Brigade Army spokesman, Maj. Michael
Etete, said the Nigerian-registered vessel, MT Atlantic Star, was arrested
while illegally tapping crude oil from a pipeline.
He said the arrests, by troops of Sector Two in
Bonny, followed a military intelligence report on December 29. He restated
JTF’s commitment towards stamping out oil theft, illegal oil bunkering and
other criminal activities within its area of responsibility in line with its
mandate.
The captain of the vessel, Mr. Rauf Rasak, told reporters that the vessel was hijacked by six unknown gunmen who threatened to kill the crew members if he refused to cooperate with their illicit directives.
The captain of the vessel, Mr. Rauf Rasak, told reporters that the vessel was hijacked by six unknown gunmen who threatened to kill the crew members if he refused to cooperate with their illicit directives.
Rasak further claimed that the gunmen immediately
took over navigation of the vessel, anchored it in Bonny and thereafter loaded
the vessel with the illegal crude oil. The captain claimed that the crew was
innocent of the charges being brought against them by the JTF.
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