- Lagos Police foil attempted oil theft from NNPC Pipeline; thieves flee upon police intervention
- Commissioner of Police visits scene of theft as oil thieves abandon truck and tools
- Nigerian Army’s Chief of Staff Vows to tackle pipeline vandalism and oil theft in Niger Delta Region
The Lagos State Police Command says its operatives foiled an attempt by hoodlums to steal oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Pipeline.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s spokesperson, announced this on Saturday via his verified Twitter handle.
He stated that the incident occurred at 2:00 a.m. in the state’s Idimu area.
Hundeyin claimed that the thugs illegally entered the site and were syphoning oil from the pipeline into their tanker.
According to the photographer, the police stormed the scene after receiving information about the theft, and the thieves abandoned their tools and fled.
The oil thieves absconded, abandoning their truck and tools, upon sighting police officers who responded swiftly when notified, he said.
Hundeyin said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Idowu Owohunwa, had also visited the scene of the theft.
Recall that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, the Nigerian Army, will put an end to pipeline damage and oil theft in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
Wednesday was Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) day in Ibadan, and Lagbaja participated in an interactive session with media executives.
He also stated that he would continue to monitor banditry in the Northwest.
Lagbaja said;
The Army will focus on the situation in the Niger-Delta region, just as it will not also lose focus on what’s happening in other parts of the country in line with the mandate of the current government.
The President [Bola Tinubu] has said that the nation is bleeding from all these. The money isn’t just there to do what we used to do in the past.
This has led to the removal of oil subsidies and the floated exchange rate, while other reforms have also been put in place.
Riding on the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of the President, the Nigerian Army under my watch will stamp out oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.