The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)
in Bayelsa says it has destroyed more than 400 illegal
mini refineries operated by oil thieves in state.
The NSCDC Commandant, Mr Desmond Agu, told the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa that the illegal
refineries were destroyed between January and March.
Agu said that the command now had a gunboat to fortify
its operational capacity and had intensified patrols in the
coastal settlements and waterways in the state.
He said that the intensified patrols by the command had
led to the arrest of ex-militant leader and his gang,
whom he said, were being prosecuted.
Agu said that the corps had deployed its personnel to
provide security to critical national assets and oil
facilities across the state.
``We are on ground to ensure safety and protection of
vital oil infrastructure and property within the command.
``The command is determined to deal with the oil
thieves and end their illegal businesses.
``We have made some arrests concerning the recent
cases of vandalism at Agip’s oil fields in Southern Ijaw
Local Government Area of the state.
``The corps recovered the bodies of the three oil
workers that died in the explosion in one of the fields on
March 26. We have handed over the bodies to Agip.
``The case has also been handed over to the Bayelsa
State Police Command because it involves death and falls
outside our mandate,” Agu said.
Dr Peter Idabor, Director-General, National Oil Spills
Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), had earlier
attributed the death of the oil workers to poor safety
procedures at the oil field.
Meanwhile, officials of Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC)
in Bayelsa and its parent company, Eni, have declined
comment on the Easter Sunday’s explosion.
Mr Fillippo Cotalini, Media Relations Manager, Eni, has
yet to respond to the request sent to him through e-mail
for a reaction on the explosion.
NAN recalls that a similar explosion on July 9, 2015
claimed the lives of 14 people in the firm’s oil field in
Azuzuama, in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
(NAN)
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