The Nigerian Navy (NN) have arrested two suspected oil thieves, one tank truck used for crude oil theft and a Mazda saloon car loaded with 1,300 illegally refined products, in Bayelsa State.

The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH (NNS), Commodore Sunday Lakan, disclosed this while parading the suspects, the truck and the Mazda car before newsmen in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The Commander had earlier assumed duty on February 19, after taking over from Commodore Olushina Ojebode.

He said under the mandate of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla and Operation Delta Safe, the NNS SOROH has continued to carry out patrol in all areas within Bayelsa.

He said: “Acting on credible intelligence, we received information of a product being stolen and transported from an illegally refined site.

“Our men were dispatched to the area and on reaching the scene, the truck was arrested with suspected crude oil stolen from a well head.

“However, on sighting our men, the driver of the truck abandoned the truck and ran away, but he left the key behind and we were able to convey the truck to the base for further investigation and necessary action.

“So, while still on patrol, we arrested another vehicle, a Mazda 323 with products tied inside sacks suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) popularly known as diesel and about 1,300 litres of kerosene.

“Also, we arrested two suspects, a male and a female, carrying the products and we took them back to the base, where thorough investigation would be carried out.”

He assured Nigerians that all procedures will be followed and all those arrested will be handed over to the appropriate authority or agency for further investigation and necessary action.

The commander said the truck was coming from Biseni area, under Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa, while the wellhead was under the Nigerian Agip Oil Company.

“It was suspected that the product was stolen from the wellhead.

“The other one said that they got it from a market named AK. Further investigation will reveal it for necessary action,” he added.

The commander urged those involved in the illegality to desist from it and look for legitimate business because the law will surely catch up with them sooner or later.

He called for cooperation from the lawful citizens of Nigeria to assist the military in carrying out operations to curb crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining.

This, he said, is because they cause a lot of damage to the country’s economy.

One of the suspects, Mr Nelson Adeh, said he was a driver who was only transporting the products for the arrested lady from the JK4 community to Mbiama before he was arrested.

He pleaded for forgiveness and promised to never indulge in such illegal business again, if granted bail.