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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Controversy rages on missing ship as SSS, NNPC testify
NOT even the testimonies of the State Security Service (SSS) chief and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC's) Group Managing Director, Funso Kupolokun before the House Committee yesterday did much to clear the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the once-detained ship, MT African Pride.
However, the SSS Director-General's testimony, given behind closed doors, reportedly suggest that the Navy had exclusive responsibility for the safety of the missing ship at its last location before disappearance.
Another dimension was however added to the subsisting controversy when the NNPC submitted that it evacuated only 6,499 cubic metres of crude from the ship while the House insisted that it contained 15,000 barrels, worth N20 billion.
The puzzle came just as the NNPC disclosed that the nation is losing an average of N2.5 billion everyday to oil theft.
Giving his testimony yesterday at the hearing, Kupolokun said the evacuation was done with the Naval personnel around but no police personnel was around.
He, however, said he would not know whether there was more crude in the ship.
According to Kupolokun, there were two MT African Pride ships with one registered in Panama while another one carried the Nigerian flag.
He lamented the rate of economic sabotage going on within the oil sector, disclosing that the nation was losing an average of 30,000 barrels of crude daily.
Asked what he did with the evacuated crude, Kupolokun said it was a contaminated crude and it was sold to a subsidiary of NNPC, Duke, at $24 per barrel in January.
Also yesterday, the director-general of State Security Service (SSS) gave his testimony behind closed doors.
The Guardian, however, learnt that the SSS boss told the panel that there had been records of ships changing names anyhow on the high seas.
He was said to have conceded that at the outer bay where the ship was, it was the responsibility of the Navy to secure it (the ship) since no other person could access it.
Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Samuel Afolayan and the Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, had earlier testified.
While the Naval chief said the ship had been handed over to the police before it disappeared, the police boss said there was no such handover and went ahead to challenge Afolayan to produce evidence of such handover.
Meanwhile, against the expectations of many, defence authorities, in Nigeria, may not for now interfere on the ongoing controversy over the missing ship arrested on the high sea by Navy, with 11,300 metric tonnes of stolen crude oil.
The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Ganiyu Adewale, who spoke to The Guardian, said the issue for now is left in the hands of the Naval authorities.
Another source told The Guardian, that since the disappearance has caused serious controversy between the Navy and Police, caution must be applied in the investigation for the purpose of peace and security of the nation.
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