We’ll go after oil thieves, barons, says CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Major General Christopher Musa, has warned that security agencies would, henceforth, go after barons facilitating oil theft in the Niger Delta region, instead of just the ships and their crews.
 
The CDS, who inspected the arrested vessel, MT Kali, carrying about 11,900 tonnes of stolen oil in the company of several security chiefs and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) top echelon, at Oporoza, Gbaramatu Kingdom, in Warri Southwest Council, Delta State, said security agencies would change tactics and go after the big fishes.
 
The ship was arrested in the act at Pennington, in Bayelsa State, where it had managed to steal 11,900 tonnes of oil. The CDS, who was clearly miffed by the unabating oil theft in the region despite the destruction of several vessels caught with stolen oil, said they would, henceforth, go after those he called “main actors” in the criminal act.
 
He said: “All Nigerians must put hands on deck to ensure that we stop these criminal acts. The country is bleeding; we need all the funds so that this country can grow and develop.
 
“The Chief Defence Intelligence is going straight into investigation to uncover those involved, what was taken and who sent them. We want to go after perpetrators. We want to apprehend the main actors because those usually arrested are just crew members. They are the ground troops that are being used; the main actors are in the background running the operations.”