Military Burnt Cameroon-Bound Vessel To Shield Oil Thieves – Monarch

A traditional ruler and Chairman, Bayelsa Traditional Rulers Council, His Royal Majesty Bubaraye Dakolo, has alleged that the Cameroon-bound stolen crude oil-laden vessel intercepted on Escravos sea in Delta State was burnt to prevent the “real oil thieves” from being brought in for investigation.

The monarch, who spoke on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Wednesday, faulted the burning of the vessel, calling it a waste of Nigeria’s resources.

KOKO TV  had reported that security agencies, on Tuesday, set ablaze a vessel laden with 150 metric tonnes of stolen crude oil earlier intercepted on Escravos sea in Delta State.

Tantita Executive Director on Technical Operations, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, told journalists that:”The whole idea of destroying the vessel is to send a strong message to all would-be investors that this is what they are to face if they do this type of business.”

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But faulting the claim, the Bayelsa monarch argued that the vessel was burnt in order to shield the oil thieves.

Dakolo said, “I can tell you for free that that vehicle (vessel) was burnt because it was cheaper to burn it than to bring in the oil thieves that (are) behind it all.

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“Usually, what Nigeria has done in the last several decades is to parade a young, helpless, improperly-educated, jobless youth from the Niger Delta as the typical thief. But I argue that such a person shouldn’t be called a thief, he should be rehabilitated. He belongs to a place where you have to educate him, re-orientate him, and make him a patriotic Nigerian. He is a victim of oil thieves.”

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Photo Credit: Getty