Pix: Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, NSCDC CG

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered and dismantled an illegal oil network operating within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

A statement by the NSCDC national spokesperson, CSC Afolabi Babawale, noted that the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG SIS) carried out a coordinated raid in the Jahi and Katampe areas, leading to the arrest of seven suspects and the discovery of seven illegal oil dumps.

Commander of the CG SIS, AS Dandaura, revealed that the sting operation followed credible intelligence on the suspected vandals who refine and store petroleum products illegally in the area.

“Acting swiftly on the intelligence received, my men and I stormed the locations and uncovered five active illegal oil dumps out of the seven sites we raided,” Dandaura stated.

The suspects arrested include Akande Olusola (48), Anas Usman (33), Jonathan Onekutu (45), Uchenna Kelechi (44), Chukwuma Solomon (37), Monday Israel (34), and Bello (33), whose full details are under investigation.

The operatives recovered a fully loaded peddler truck, surface tanks containing suspected Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), pumping machines, counting machines, metal tanks, hoses, and a host of other equipment used for the illicit business.

The exhibits include:

1. One white truck (Reg. GYA-777XA) with three compartments fully loaded with 45,000 litres of suspected AGO and an unverifiable waybill
2. Mercedes-Benz short peddler truck (Reg. FST-425XB)
3. Four short peddler trucks (Reg. RSH-197ZANSR-27YW), two without visible registration
4. White DAF CF truck (Reg. KSF161XQ)
5. MAN Diesel short truck (Reg. KWL-241XA)
6. Volkswagen Bus (Reg. RBC-140XF)
7. Red and white DAF CF truck
8. Short peddler truck (Reg. RBC431XG)
9. Mercedes-Benz 1831 model short peddler truck (Reg. ABJ 647XD)
10. Mercedes-Benz short peddler truck (Reg. RSH-12XB)
11. Mercedes-Benz short peddler truck (Reg. EBJ247)
12. Two counting machines
13. Toyota Matrix (blue) (Reg. KWL 644 ZY)
14. Two Toyota Corolla cars (Reg. AWE-717AA and ABJ-893BE)
15. 18 pumping machines
16. Approximately 23 surface metallic constructed tanks, some containing large quantities of suspected AGO
17. One black surface metal tank with about 14,000 litres of AGO
18. 25 locally constructed metal tanks
19. Various sizes of industrial hoses
20. Over 50 calibrated rubber surface tanks
21. Two Volkswagen Faragon buses with built-in tanks
22. A container shelter
23. A Mikano generator
24. Two metal funnels
25. Several plastic buckets
26. Short peddler tankers without heads

“We will not relent in our duty to safeguard the nation’s critical assets. This is a message to oil thieves across the country: There’s no hiding place anymore,” said Dandaura.