- Justifies destruction of vessels intercepted with stolen crude
BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
As the wanton theft of the nation’s crude oil in the Niger Delta region continues to take its toll on the Nigerian economy, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a security outfit owned by former militant leader, Government Ekpemepulo, popularly known as Tompolo, and contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, has disclosed that it has been difficult preventing oil thieves from operating in the Niger Delta.
The security firm, which was awarded the multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance contract, said it had to wait for suspected thieves to load their stolen crude oil in their ships before striking, disclosing that efforts to stop oil theft or arrest suspects during the acts had failed in the past.
Security operatives of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, in collaboration with Tompolo’s firm, recently set ablaze an intercepted massive vessel carrying barrels of stolen crude oil in the Escravos area of Delta State.
The vessel was set ablaze by a military helicopter.
The vessel, allegedly owned by a Nigerian registered company, was heading to Cameroon with the cargo onboard when it was apprehended at an offshore location with the captain and crew members onboard.
The oil cargo was illegally sourced from a well-jacketed offshore in Ondo State with no valid documentation at the time of the arrest.
The said vessel had operated in stealth mode for the last 12 years.
Speaking during an interview, the Executive Director of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security, Captain Warred Enisuoh, said it had been difficult for government to fund intelligence gathering for private actors, stressing that arresting suspects without finding stolen barrels in their vessels would be against the United Nations law of innocent passage.
On why the progress of curbing the criminal enterprise in the region has been slow and reason security operatives have to wait till thieves come into the pipeline territory, Enisuoh explained, “You know we came on board last year. We have been doing everything under our control to partner with state actors. It’s not easy to catch oil thieves and detect ships that are being used to steal crude.
“We use electronic intelligence to sniff out some of these dogs in the ocean. We are not responsible for the ocean in full and it’s very difficult to fund intelligence. We will encourage the government to continue to fund the private actors in this regard.
“A few weeks before we apprehended that ship (burnt oil cargo), we saw another one, we said we should go and prevent the ship from loading. On getting there, we saw them (suspected thieves) and there was nothing in the ship and we couldn’t do anything because of the law of innocent passage under the United Nations. We had to wait for this one (intercepted ship) to load the crude around 9:00 pm and by 4:00 am the next day, we stormed the place.”
Reacting to the condemnation trailing the setting ablaze of the suspicious vessel with a cargo of crude oil on board, the security consultant said the effects of incinerating vessels and stolen barrels of oil were mild when compared to preserving them as evidence for prosecution of suspects.
Concerned stakeholders in the Niger Delta have lamented that continuous destruction of stolen oil would worsen environmental and water pollution in the region and cause ecological challenges.
But the firm justified the incineration approach, maintaining that evacuating the oil or leaving it on water for years might predispose the people of Niger Delta and Nigeria, at large, to worse danger.
He said the crude found in the recently destroyed ship was not blown up, adding that it was under custody.
“This ship that we incinerated may last about 10 years and possibly go into the waters and cause some ecological challenges if we decide to leave it as evidence as some people demanded. Which one is worse? This particular ship has been evading capture for a long time and this came into the country with a different name, trying to change its name but didn’t succeed; falsified its name and started committing crimes against us for the last 10 years before it was caught.
“So, what kind of evidence do we need again? We don’t need anymore evidence and mind you, Nigeria is very light and merciful on these types of crimes. If you go to places like Australia where I did similar jobs before or even as we speak, Peru, Indonesia and all of these places, it’s explosion straight away. But, when Nigeria does its own, people start shouting.
“We have to protect our natural resources for our children and next generation, so we are not bothered aboutone particular ship. After the whole oil becomes gas, it is less dangerous to the environment. Also, it’s better we blow it up than leaving it to go into the water till it pollutes the water, affects the fish of which the inhabitants of the area will not be able to survive. So, we have to choose one,” Enisuoh said.
He said the incineration method had been dissuading cabals, cartels and other oil criminals from venturing into the illegal enterprise, noting that “a lot of people are desisting and don’t want to lose their assets. If you check the Niger Delta now, the level of environmental pollution in the area is reducing. Most people refine this diesel in the environment and take it to Lagos to mix with foreign refined oil. So, it affects the whole country.”
“It is much easier to burn crude inside the ship than burn crude outside the ship. The crude oil won’t spill out, it will only evaporate, after all, crude oil is just gas in solid form. So, it’s easier to be incinerated in a contained manner and I can assure that the crude we burnt is evaporating and the water is very clean. It’s not as the people see it because a lot of people are worried because of the graphics of the burning exercise.
“Even if it is going to affect the environment, it is not in the manner it would have been if evacuated. People are now scared to go into this illegal business. I agree with finding the owners of these ships and government is also finding the owners. We have really recorded many feats and the Federal Government is also doing its best,” he stated.
