An intercepted vessel carrying barrels of stolen crude oil was set ablaze by security personnel of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, working with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited in the Escravos region of Delta State.
The vessel was set ablaze by a military helicopter.
The vessel allegedly owned by a Nigerian registered company, was heading to Cameroon with the cargo onboard when it was apprehended at an offshore location with the captain and crew members onboard.
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According to the Executive Director of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security, Captain Warred Enisuoh and the Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, the oil cargo was illegally sourced from a well-jacketed offshore in Ondo State with no valid documentation at the time of the arrest.
The said vessel had operated in stealth mode for the last 12 years.
The discovery was the latest in the series of disturbing findings by the Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a security outfit owned by former militant leader Government Ekpemepulo aka Tompolo and contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
In October 2022, security agents also destroyed a vessel used for crude oil theft off the Niger Delta creeks after the vessel was reportedly arrested by Tompolo’s firm.
The destruction of the vessel generated controversy as some Nigerians fumed at the action of security agents, saying the vessel should have been preserved as an exhibit to prosecute the owners of the vessel.
The House of Representatives subsequently said it would investigate the circumstances surrounding the destruction of the oil bunkering vessel by security agents.
