PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (AP) _ Troops patrolling the militant-infested waterways of Nigeria’s oil producing region torched two barges Friday after the boats were found transporting stolen petroleum products, police said. It wasn’t known if there were any casualties in the incident, which was still under investigation, said Rivers State police commissioner Felix Ogbaudu.
The two boats were discovered carrying stolen loads of a petroleum-industry byproduct, and troops set them ablaze to destroy them, he said. Theft of oil and other petroleum products is common in southern Nigeria, with ships hooking up to the thousands of well heads and flow stations in the vast swampy region and filling their holds with purloined crude.