The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has initiated investigations into the activities of eight individuals suspected of engaging in oil theft in Rivers State. The suspects were handed over to the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the EFCC by the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base at Akiama Road, Bonny Island, Rivers State, on January 10, 2024.
In a statement on its website, the EFCC revealed that the suspects were apprehended with an undisclosed quantity of illegally acquired Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel, along the Bonny Channel. The Naval Hand-Over Officer, Lieutenant Commander G.Y. Gwaza, explained that the vessel, MV Cabrini, and its eight crew members were arrested during an operation on November 8, 2023. Gwaza conveyed that the suspected oil thieves were handed over to the EFCC for further investigation and potential prosecution.
Chief Superintendent Itoro Levi of the EFCC, who received the suspects on behalf of the agency, assured that a comprehensive and professional investigation would be conducted in the case. Levi expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Navy for its collaborative efforts with the anti-graft agency.
It is noteworthy that on December 12, 2023, the Navy previously handed over three individuals to the police for facilitating a fake oil approval for a Marine Vessel named Mother Gabrini in Rivers State. Commodore Desmond Igbo, the Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, disclosed that the vessel was intercepted on November 8 due to suspected illegal bunkering during operations conducted by the Forward Operating Base in the Bonny Council of the state.