Three suspected vandals have been arrested for engaging in
oil bunkering around the creeks in the FESTAC Town area of Lagos State.
The suspects –
Johnson Igadu, 25, Daniel Poku, 25, and 26-year-old Sterling Longlife – told
PUNCH Metro that they carried out the operation after allegedly getting
assurances from some military officers that nothing would go wrong.
The suspects, who
were paraded on Tuesday at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’, Lagos
State Command headquarters in Ikeja, said their kingpin, identified as Soji,
was still at large.
They alleged that the soldiers colluded with them in the
operation.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Soji had on May 21, 2016 engaged
the suspects to convey 10 barrels of fuel in a boat from 7th Avenue, FESTAC
Town, to a place called Ghana village, saying he had “settled” the military men
monitoring the waterways in the area.
It was learnt that the gang had scaled through with the fuel
at two checkpoints reportedly manned by soldiers before luck ran out on them.
Igadu, who hails from
Warri, Delta State, said he could not tell why the operation went wrong as his
friend, Poku, had allegedly spoken with a soldier on the phone who assured them
of safety.
He said, “I came to Lagos two months ago. Soji called us to
bring 10 barrels of fuel from a creek on 7th Avenue, FESTAC Town. We went there
to carry the fuel to Ghana village. We knew there were soldiers in the area,
but he said he had already paid them and that we should not be afraid.
“He sent Poku’s number to one of the soldiers to call us
when it was safe to get the fuel. The soldier called Poku and said we should
come to carry the fuel. That was why we got the confidence to move.
“We carried the fuel around 12.30am and left in their
presence. We passed the first two checkpoints. The soldiers there checked the
fuel and told us to go.
“When we got to the
third checkpoint, we heard gunshots. We fled the boat and escaped through the
waterways. We ran to a man and begged him to allow us pass the night at his
house. But he alerted the vigilantes around the area who handed us over to the
police. The police handed us over to the army and we were later transferred to
the NSCDC.”
Twenty-five-year-old Poku, an indigene of Delta State, said
he had declined to embark on the deal but Soji persuaded him.
“I am a businessman. I came to Lagos to hustle. I later met
Soji. He engaged the three of us to carry the fuel to Ghana village and
promised to give us N10,000 each. I told him soldiers were around the area and
he said he had settled them.
“The soldiers at the checkpoints knew we were carrying fuel
but they did not stop us. It was at the third checkpoint that some of them
started shooting. Maybe Soji didn’t settle those soldiers,” he said.
Ondo State-born Longlife, a mechanic, confirmed the
statements of the other two suspects.
“I decided to do the job on that day because I did not have
money. I have realised the errand he sent us was wrong. I beg the government to
forgive me,” he added.
However, the Public Relations Officer of the 81 Division,
Lt.-Col. Kingsley Samuel, refuted the suspects’ allegations, saying they could
have mistaken the officers of other forces for soldiers.
He said, “That is an
allegation from suspects; it is spurious. Can they identify the soldiers? The
Nigerian Army, the Air Force and the Navy wear the same camouflage. There is
uniformity in the camouflage, so you can’t tell who is a soldier, an air force officer
or a naval officer.
“Operation MESSA is
not made up of soldiers alone. We cannot speak on the allegation now because we
don’t know those paraded and we were not informed of the parade.”
The Lagos State
NSCDC Commandant, Tajudeen Balogun, said the suspects would be charged to court
after investigation, adding that the corps would continue to track down
pipeline vandals sabotaging the country’s economy.
He said, “About 2,500 litres of petrol was recovered from the suspects. Investigation is ongoing. We will charge them to court at the end of our investigation.”
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