Six Nigerians, 20 Ghanaians Arrested Over Illegal Bunkering

SAN FRANCISCO, October 05, (THEWILL) - Twenty Ghanaians and six Nigerians have been arrested for alleged illegal bunkering, the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta said on Friday.

According to Commander, Sector II of the JTF, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, the task force also destroyed seven barges loaded with crude oil. The barges, he explained, were impounded in September at Abonnema, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Buratai, also the Commander, 2 Brigade of the Army in Port Harcourt, further revealed that the arrested Ghanaians and Nigerians had since been handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), for onward prosecution.

“There were some arrests and they have all been handed over to the Civil Defence for prosecution,” he said. “And, as you are aware, these barges have been operating within this area. They take advantage of the creeks, the difficult terrain, to sneak into the area and then steal the crude oil. But, luck ran out for them, we were able to intercept them.”

Buratai added that even though the difficult terrain had prevented gunboats from reaching the creeks due to the shallow water in some areas, his men, “by and large” have assumed “full control and we are able to take on the oil thieves squarely.”