Commander, Inspector General of Police Monitoring Task Force on Pipeline Vandalisation, Mr. Murtala Abdulahi, has said that the war against oil bunkering by the special task force was being frustrated by the involvement of top security officers in the Niger Delta.
He said some of the security chiefs who cut across all the services allegedly aided barons of oil bunkerers by providing them with cover and in many cases, provide their ships with escorts out of the nation’s territorial waters.
Mr. Abdulahi, in an interview with newsmen in Warri on Saturday noted that the involvement of these top security officers and some prominent people in the Niger Delta was making the fight against pipeline vandalisation difficult for the special task force.
Though, he acknow-ledged that the special security outfit had recorded some successes in arresting some culprits, Mr. Abdulahi, a Superintendent of Police, noted that his experience was terrible, adding, “illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism are increasing everyday and we suspect connivance from the forces and security agents.”
The police officer said there has been an increase in the incidents of oil pipeline vandalization probably because kidnapping and hostage takings were no longer lucrative and the hoodlums were now focusing on this business to survive.
He said his security outfit was capable of tackling the problem headlong, but for the involvement of security agents and police officers in the shady deal which makes it difficult for his team to effectively tackle the hoodlums.
Mr. Abdulahi said the criminals were getting bolder by the day arming themselves with sophisticated weapons with which they engage his men on the field but thanked the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro for providing him with all the necessary materials to confront the hoodlums.
Oct142007