Personnel of the Nigerian Army attached to 181 Battalion, Oleh in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State in joint operation with operatives of TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited, have arrested a Vaccum truck ladened with liquid suspected to be stolen crude oil at Well-head(3).
Arrested alongside the truck is the driver, identified as Matthew Ojomikre.
It was learned, the suspect and the truck were arrested on Monday after he illegally stole crude oil from well four(3) in Olomoro community under OML 30 and that operated by Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited.
The suspect is cooling his heels at the custody of the Nigerian Army 181 Barrack where he is detained.
According to sources, “The suspect went without the permission, approval and license from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC to illegally load crude oil.
It was at the point of him leaving the crime scene that he was accosted by the soldiers who eventually informed operatives of TANTITA Security Services of his activities. He was promptly arrested.
When interrogated, the suspect confessed that his company was contracted by Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited to help Evacuate sludge from well 3, Olomoro but without any formal approvals or documents to show that such activity was to be carried out.
“Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited used to send Crude and condensate trucking permits to officers of the Nigerian Army and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd for proper monitoring from the loading point to that of discharge. but in this case it was not” the source revealed.
At the time of filing this report,Officers of Tantita Security Services, in collaboration with Heritage team and the Nigeria Army, have collected samples from the vacuum truck for laboratory testing and analysis.
However,the confessional statement from the truck drivers shows that he went illegally to collect crude from Well 3, Olomoro, in the guise of helping to evacuate sludge from the wellheads.
It was also gathered that the owners of the Vaccum truck who have been allegedly involved in unauthorized evacuation of crude are trying to influence the release of the driver.
At the moment stakeholders are calling on the on the Department of State Security,DSS and Special Intelligence and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,NNPCL to investigate the activities of the company which owned the Vaccum truck.
They said before the driver of the Vaccum truck is supposed to go the well head, he should have possessed NUPRC licence of evacuation, notified the Military and TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited for proper supervision by Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited.
The stakeholders stressed that,”Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited ought to have copied the military and TANTITA but only the driver went to the well head, loaded the crude and left. It was on his way out, the military accosted him and called TANTITA.”
“The arrest was made after the driver could not produce evidence of his movement as he was asked to provide his license and military escort, he said he had none.”
