After evading detection and arrest for 12 years, a vessel with stolen crude oil was caught and set ablaze in Escravos area of Delta State.
The vessel was discovered through a string of operations launched by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited.
The arrest of the crude oil vessel was carried out in a joint operation of security operatives from the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited.
The Cameroon-bound vessel was caught in the act of transporting barrels of stolen crude before it was incineration by the task force, who deployed a military helicopter gunship.
The vessel which was registered and owned by a Nigerian company – “MT Tura ll” laden with 800,000 litres of stolen crude oil on Escravos sea, was intercepted at an offshore location in Ondo state by Tantita security services in the early hours of Saturday, while the captain and crew members were still aboard.
It was later navigated to Oporosa in Gbaramatu, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Captain Warred Enisuoh, Executive Director of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security, together with Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, said the seized oil cargo had no valid documents and authorization, and its content was unlawfully sourced from an offshore well in Ondo State.
The destruction sparked public outcry, with some individuals criticising the decision to eliminate the vessel instead of preserving it as evidence for prosecuting the owners. Consequently, the House of Representatives has expressed its intention to investigate the circumstances surrounding the vessel’s destruction by security agents.
Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, is a security company, owned by former militant leader Government Ekpemepulo, also known as Tompolo. The company is under a contractual services with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited
