FG Staff Who Uses the Ministry of Mines and Steel Vehicle for Illegal Oil Business Caught in Bayelsa

Posted by Odinaka on Fri 25th Aug, 2017 - tori.ng

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have apprehended suspected oil thieves, including an employee of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel who used official vehicle for illegal businesses.

The FG vehicle used for illegal business (Photo: Simon Utebor)

Some suspected oil thieves, including a man identified as Philip Tuma, who claims to be an employee of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, have been apprenhended by the operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Bayelsa State Command.

According to a report by Punch Metro, the vehicle which was reportedly being used to convey petroleum products suspected to have been stolen.

It was gathered that the vehicle, a Toyota Hilux van, which was used by the suspects to beat security checkpoints, was rounded up on Thursday in Yenagoa, by the anti-vandals team of the corps.

Tuma, who was among those paraded at the NSCDC command’s headquarters in Yenagoa on Friday, said he worked in the ministry and was officially allowed to keep the vehicle with number plate 28A-36FG, and exonerated his boss, saying his supervisor knew nothing about deployment of the vehicle to transport oil suspected to have been stolen.

The suspect who revealed further that he worked in collusion with his younger brothers whom he claimed were idling away due to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, said, “I work in the ministry and was given the vehicle to keep as a worker. My boss has no knowledge of what I have done. This is my first time.

“My younger ones, who are at home because of the ASUU strike, convinced me to follow them because they needed money for their tuition.”

The Deputy Commandant, NSCDC, Chikere Isidore, who spoke shortly after the parade and destruction of some of the impounded products, said the suspects would be prosecuted.

“We are always on their trail and each time we intercept them, we arrest and prosecute them. You can see the suspects carried some of their products in a van of a known ministry to escape arrest. But they failed. Our men are always on the alert,” Isidore stated.