Akpan Umoh, Uyo
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested one suspect and impounded two vehicles conveying 4, 500 litres of suspected adulterated Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in Akwa Ibom State.
Commandant of the NSCDC in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Suleiman Marafa, said this while speaking with newsmen at the command’s exhibits yard in Uyo on Wednesday.
Marafa added that the suspect, Mr Emaeyak Johnson, aged 36 was arrested by the operatives of the NSCDC Akwa Ibom State Command on 19 August along Ikot Abasi-Port Harcourt Highway while bringing in the products from Ogoni creeks in Rivers State Akwa Ibom State.
He noted that the second suspect abandoned his vehicle and fled when sighted operatives of NSCDC, adding that the two vehicles seized were; Toyota Camry with AKD 940 EG and ART 994 AA as its registration numbers.
According to him, the suspects concealed the stolen product in cellophane bags inside booths of their vehicle to bid security check.
He said that the activities of criminals and vandals were sabotaging the nation’s economy, stressing that the command would not give them any breathing space to operate in the state.
“The corps under my watch will not relent in hunting oil thieves and vandals who are sabotaging the Nigerian economy.
“We have increased surveillance and patrol in identified flashpoints. I want to assure you that it’s not going to be business as usual for criminals and enemies of the state.
“The suspect will be arraigned in court soonest, where he will answer for his crime. I want to appeal to our youths to desist from crime,” Mafara said.
Mafara assured the Akwa Ibom people and all Nigerians that the command would not relent on its mandate of protecting the government’s critical assets and infrastructure from vandals.
He warned criminals and vandals to rethink as the state was no longer conducive for economic saboteurs.