The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS), Forward Operation Base, Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, has arrested a Nigerian and three Cameroonians with 66 drums of petrol suspected to have been stolen.
The suspects are Kokah Ekema, 38, Money Francis, 27, Nako Otto, 25, and a Nigerian, Who-Knows Nya, 30.
Capt. Siyanbade Adedokun, the Commanding Officer at the base, paraded the suspects on Tuesday before newsmen in Ibaka.
Adedokun said that one Cotonou wooden boat equipped with two 40 horsepower outboard engines had also been seized from the suspects.
“The more we patrol, the more we make the maritime environment safe for legitimate business to thrive.
“It is a very strategic place to police so that we won’t have people from neighbouring countries coming to penetrate illegality into the country,” Adedokun said.
He decried acts of sabotage by criminal elements on the economy of the country.
Adedokun attributed the success recorded by NNS Forward Operation Base to frequent patrols of the nation’s waterways and creeks.
He warned oil bunkerers, pipeline vandals and sea pirates within the maritime environment of Nigeria to refrain from nefarious activities.
The commanding officer handed the suspects over to the Akwa Ibom command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The state Commandant of the NSCDC, Obiagulu Obiageli, who received the suspects from the navy, lauded the Nigerian Navy for effective policing of the waterways.
She noted that the achievement of the navy would help to sustain legitimate businesses within the maritime area of the country.
Obiageli, represented by the Chief Inspector of the corps, Victor Uweh, said the NSCDC would investigate the suspects and prosecute those found culpable. (NAN)
