2,174 Pipeline Vandals in Police Net - IG
From Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
2,174 suspects have been arrested by the Nigerian Police in connection with petroleum product theft and pipeline vandalization since the inception of a special task force set up in 2000.
Giving the break down in his office yesterday while receiving the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corpo-ration (NNPC), Engr, Funsho Kupolokun, Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun said his men arrested 869 suspects in 2000, 142 (2003), 37 (2002), 609 (2003) and 470 so far this year.
Out of this number, Police has so far arraigned 1,909 suspects before the courts together with exhibit of items including 55 trucks, 54 other vehicles, 10 ships, seven badges, 156 canoe and boats and 622 motorcycles.
The IG said the Police is facing legal, logistics and material constraints in the drive to contain the activities of the petroleum thieves.
He said the Force has been having problems in prosecuting cases involving the suspects in courts, as judges easily granted them bail while human rights groups put pressure on Police to release those under detention.
Balogun solicited the assistance of NNPC management in the procurement of additional logistics and restoration of allowances payable to Police officers involved in the task force operations.
Kupolokun was quoted recently as saying that the country is still losing close to 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day to thieves after the security agencies had succeeded in reducing the figure from about 300,000 barrels last year.
Kupolokun had earlier expressed delight at the reduced level of occurrence of the menace. he said the progress recorded in the area was due to the effort and co-operation of the men of the police task force on pipeline vandalization.
He noted that prior to the present situation, things were almost getting uncontrollable, particularly in the eastern axis where it was becoming impossible to deliver petroleum products not because products were not available, but because of the disruptive actions of the vandals.
"Before I came into office in 2003, especially between January and March last year, the incidence was very high, about 458 cases. Virtually no weekend passes without a report of vandalization, but in the last two months, the spate of these occurrences has reduced significantly," the GMD said.
He, however, acknowledged that more steps needed to be taken. The GMD also promised to hold further discussions on how the corporation could best assist the Police in carrying out its responsibilities.
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