By Beatrice Gondyi, Bauchi
Bauchi State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested five persons for alleged oil bunkering in Kainji Quarters, adjacent Gwallagar –Mayaka village in the Bauchi local government area of Bauchi State.
Confirming the arrest, PRO, DSC Ibrahim Abubakar Gabdo, while briefing Journalists in Bauchi, stated that the five suspects were caught in the act by the Officers of the Corps at the scene of the illegal bunkering.
He said that the suspects were arrested alongside the jerricans used for the illegal act filled with the bunkered oil.
Ibrahim Gabdo assured that the suspects will be arraigned before the Court after concluding necessary investigations.
In his remarks, the ward head of Kainji Quarters where the illegal bunkering occurred, Malam Salihu Ibrahim, expressed great concern over the inherent danger of the illegal act.
Malam Ibrahim said that he has since reported the matter to the authorities, urging them to hasten the repairs of the broken pipeline to avert impending consequences in the area and other parts of the Bauchi metropolis.
He recalled that the pipeline was first repaired by the NNPC some time ago, adding that in less than one week, the oil thieves damaged it again and went ahead with their illegal act.
Some residents of the area, Comrade Abdullahi Aliyu and Ubaidullah Sabiu, said that one cannot distinguish the area from a market in the middle of the night when the oil thieves conduct their activities freely.
According to them, residents of the area will be the first victims of any disaster that may occur as a result of the illegal bunkering and therefore called on the state government, security agencies and other stakeholders to immediately come to their aid.
Reports indicated that youths in the area had taken advantage of the leaking of one of the major NNPC Pipelines that passed through the area to Gombe depot where they embarked on illegal bunkering of oil.
