JTF destroys 35 bunkerers’ refineries, 18 boats

Over 35 illegal oil refineries and 18 local boats used by bunkerers had been destroyed by the Joint Task Force on Oil Bunkering operating in Ondo State. The Joint Task Force which stormed the riverine communities burnt down all illegal refineries in a two day operation in the coastal communities of Ondo, Edo and Delta states.
The operation was in conjunction with a private security outfit, Gallery Security Services Limited owned by an ex-militant High Chief Bebopiri Ajube that intercepted over 1.6million litres of stolen crude recently.
The illegal refineries are hidden in the creeks of Dababilebu, Akitogbo, Adiloseimo, Obontonu and Akina-Zion communities.

JTF Seizes 1,000 Tonnes of Crude Oil in Rivers

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.

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.

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.

JTF arrests 2 Shell workers for oil theft

Two suspected surveillance workers of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) were arrested by soldiers of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta over oil theft. Maj. Michael Etete, the Spokesman for the 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, disclosed this in a signed statement.
Etete said the workers were arrested for breaking and tapping crude oil from an SPDC pipeline located at Kporgho in Gokana local government area in Rivers.
The Army spokesman said the two suspects had been handed over to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the state command, for prosecution.
Etete called on multinational oil companies operating in the area to monitor its workers so as to aid security agents in its mandate of eliminating illegal oil bunkering in the region.

JTF destroys illegal refineries in Delta, Edo, Ondo

About 50 local refineries have been destroyed by men of Joint Task Force, Operation  Pulo Shield, Army 4 Brigade, in several raids carried out by the command in Edo, Delta and Ondo States. Also, 11 suspects were arrested in connection with sea piracy, while others were apprehended for alleged armed robbery and kidnapping in the last four weeks.

The command, in a statement by the Brigade Public Relations Officer, Captain Rosalyn Managbe, said the operations were geared towards enhancing a secured environment in the interest of national security

 Among items recovered from them were 100 Cotonou boats, 12 Tankers, 1,300 surface Geepee tanks and 350,000 drums of alleged illegally refined products, two FN riffles, one G3 riffle, one sub-machine gun, three AK 47 riffles and one pump action. Others included 575 rounds of 7.62mm special, 42 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 44 rounds of shot gun cartridge, 10 AK 47 magazines, one magazine, two FN magazines, three walkie talkies, one metal detector and one battle axe.