Oil thieves are ‘sophisticated syndicates’, Navy reveals

Tragedy struck Okari Jetty in the Okrika Local Council Area of Rivers State on Wednesday night when over 10 persons reportedly died after inhaling fumes from petroleum products while attempting to scoop fuel from the area.

The victims were said to have gone to the jetty to collect petroleum products that had spilt into the water when they were allegedly overwhelmed by the fumes and choked to death.

The Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in Okrika Council, Igwe Godswill, who confirmed the incident, described the incident as tragic, saying most of the victims were youths searching for means of livelihood.

He said: “It is so pathetic that this incident is happening in our community. These are young guys who have gone to search for their daily bread, only for the fumes from the fuel that was pumped to kill so many of our youths under the bridge.

“Many of them were choked to death. These are not criminals or anything, but they went out in search of their daily meal. I am asking the community, the leaders, and every other person that we need legitimate jobs in the community.

“These things are risky, but when you cannot feed your children, most times, those risky jobs become the only option.”

Godswill explained that the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products floating on the water when they were overcome by fumes from a vessel loading petroleum products at the jetty.

He said about 10 bodies had been recovered, adding that only some of the victims could be identified because of the condition of their remains.

The Civilian JTF Commander called on the Rivers State Government, community leaders and other relevant authorities to create employment opportunities for youths in the area to discourage them from engaging in dangerous activities.

He said: “I am calling on relevant authorities, community leaders, the chairman, and every other person to look into this. It is not enough to stop them because it is a risky job, but they should create jobs for the youths so that everybody will have something to eat.”

However, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, ASP Agabe Blessing Karbolo, said the victims reportedly died while attempting to steal crude oil.

Karbolo, while responding to an inquiry on the incident, said no official complaint had been received by the Command as of the time of filing the report.

She added that the police had commenced an investigation to ascertain the number of persons who died in the incident and establish the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

MEANWHILE, the Nigerian Navy said those behind crude oil theft and illegal refining in the country are “sophisticated” and “coordinated”.

However, it warned that there is no “hiding place” for criminals.

Speaking during his appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, yesterday, the Director, Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said it takes a lot to carry out a successful crude oil theft; thus, those behind it cannot be labelled “petty thieves”.

“These syndicates are very, very coordinated and very sophisticated. You don’t steal crude at that scale without some wherewithal to be able to make it happen,” Folorunsho said.

“I mean, when you’re talking about metric tonnes, you’re talking about ships, and you know what it takes to operate at sea. It’s not something that you just come by on the road.

But again, when you look at the reward for a successful heist, you would understand why people will band together; people will invest in stuff like this to ensure that they’re able to take some of these for themselves.”

He spoke hours after the Nigerian Navy announced what it described as a significant operational gain in its fight against crude oil theft and illegal refining.