By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
ALL those who are campaigning against private pipelines security outfits in ridding the Niger Delta waterways of oil theft are oil bunkerers.
This is the verdict of the Director of Operations of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd (TSSNL), Captain Warredi Enisuoh, on Sunday, while parading MT Kali and the suspects intercepted last Thursday while siphoning crude oil from one of the several platforms in Pennington Oil Field in Bayelsa State.
Captain Enisuoh
MT Kali was intercepted by operatives of TSSNL and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), offshore Sokebolou Field in Bayelsa State.
Parading the vessel and suspects at Oporoza, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State on Sunday, Captain Enisuoh vowed to be resilient and cooperate with willing security agencies to sustain the fight against oil theft.
According to him, both human and technical intelligence were deployed to track the vessel, over time, before her eventual interception.
MT Kali
He also confirmed that the vessel had been involved in illegal oil thefts in the past.
“We want to seize this opportunity to let Nigerians know that those who campaign against the private security companies in participating in this fight are bunkerers.
“They can continue but we will not relent, we will not resist our efforts towards fighting this. We will continue to be resilient and we will definitely assist the country in resolving this.
“We will assist also the Nigerian security forces, which are happy to participate in securing our assets to do this job. Take it from here that I said so.
“They can continue but we will not relent, we will not resist our efforts towards fighting this.
“We will continue to be resilient and we will definitely assist the country in resolving this.
“We will assist also the Nigerian security forces, which are happy to participate in securing our assets to do this job,” he vowed.
He further disclosed that the ill-fated vessel had on board a crew of 12 members along with 13 community workers, and that the vessel was intercepted at about 12:25 a.m on Thursday, January 11, 2024, in the Ekeni Sea, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa.
Checking the crude oil
While affirming that “the Operation would not have been successful if not for the support of the NSCDC”, Enisuoh insisted that “the intercepted vessel was not on a leak activity.
He declared, “The ship was not on a legal activity. It was on an illegal activity. This ship has got no documentation.
“If you see the video evidence, the electronic evidence and the intelligence we had before we apprehended the ship, you will know that the exact location where we apprehended the ship was not designed for loading crude oil. It was only designed for producing crude oil.”
Two principal suspects arrested on board MT Kali on Thursday were captain of the vessel, Caption David Adeboye and Promise Eze.
Fielding questions from journalists during the parade on Sunday, Captain Adeboye, confirmed that the vessel had already siphoned 119 tonnes of stolen crude oil at the point of the interception.
Adeboye, who had earlier confessed that his boss is one Adeniyi, said he was instructed to test-run the vessel which had been anchored in Lagos for over a year.
He said he was also instructed to carry out some turnaround maintenance on the vessel before the ill-fated voyage to Bayelsa State.
He said: “When we set out from Lagos State, the boat has been in Lagos for more than a year. They were doing some maintenance on it.
“So when we came out, we were instructed to test run the engine. So for like 10 miles and after 10 miles and we are satisfied that she can go as far as Bayelsa, then we should let them know”, he said.
According to him, after a successful test-run, he and the crew were directed to sail to Bayelsa State and return to Lagos State with AGO (Diesel).
He said on anchoring the vessel in Bayelsa State, the local agent he spoke to said it was AGO that was the original plan in his statement, but didn’t know when crude oil was delivered into the vessel.
“So when I got there, I dropped anchor and spoke with the agent which he also, as to his message statement, he confirmed that it was AGO that was the original plan to come and load.
“So at which point it now turned out to be crude, that is what I am still battling with up till now.
“Currently, we have 119 tonnes of crude oil on board the vessel. The agent brought his boys and at the end of the day filled the vessel with crude.
“The agent brought his boys and at the end of the day, he brought his boys. So o still even think that but when I saw them.
“I don’t know and I tried to reach the management but where we were, the network was not good.”
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