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Churches, mosques involved in pipeline vandalism, oil theft, says NNPC

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The group chief executive officer (GCEO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, has sensationally claimed that churches, mosques, security agencies as well as host communities are involved in crude oil theft.

Kyari said this during a press briefing at the state house on Tuesday.

He said the shutting down of some of the national oil company’s pipelines was deliberate due to the challenge of incurring a loss on the assets.

“As you may also be aware because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country. You know, none of them can take delivery of products today,” he said.

“And the reason is very simple. For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven’t operated that line for 15 years. Every molecule of product that we put get lost. And of course, you remember the sad incident of fire incident very close to Warri, close to Sapele that killed so many people.

READ  Oil theft: NNPC uncovers 15 illegal pipeline connections, 83 illegal refineries in 7 days

“So, we had to shut it down and as we speak, ladies and gentlemen, the level of losses that we have on our product pipeline, and I’m sure you may have seen it and I’ll invite you at the right time so we can take a look at it jointly.

“You remember that Lagos area. When a fire outbreak happened in one of our pipelines, we discovered that some of the pipelines were actually connected to individuals’ homes. And not only that, and with all sensitivity to our religious beliefs, you know, some of the pipelines and some of the products that we found, are actually in churches and mosques.

“That means that everybody is involved. There is no way you will take products, bring in trucks in populated neighbourhoods, load them and leave without everybody else knowing about it. That everybody includes members of the community, members of the religious leaders and also and most likely government officials of all natures, including security agencies personnel.

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“They are everywhere. And I’ve seen this even in the Niger Delta. There’s no way you would deliver a volume and lose up to 30 percent and you will continue to put those products in this line.”

In the first quarter of 2022, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said the country lost at least $1 billion due to oil theft and illegal artisanal refining.

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Policeman kills corps member, injures LAUTECH graduate in Oyo

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One trigger-happy policeman, popularly known as Saheed SARS, allegedly shot a corps member, identified as Iyanda Damilola to death in Ogbomoso Local Government Area of Oyo State on Tuesday.

It was gathered that Saheed is an operative of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Oyo State Police Command.

Saheed is widely recognised by the students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso for assaults, most especially “Yahoo boys”.

In 2020, he was heavily criticised on social media platforms after he reportedly posed with a white Mercedez Benz car he claimed to have bought.

 

The deceased’s brother, Iyanda Oluwafemi, a graduate of LAUTECH, said he sustained wounds from bullets shot by Saheed.

Oluwafemi, a graduate of Accounting and Management Sciences from the institution, said the deceased was his brother and that he had attended his convocation, after which they headed for an after-party the same day where he was shot dead by the trigger-happy cop.

READ  Oil theft: Navy arrests 10 suspects, vessel with 7,000 barrels of crude oil in A'Ibom

According to him, the late Damilola was serving in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

He said, “Yesterday was our convocation, and we were at a lounge (name withheld) for a convocation party around 2am when we heard that some people were fighting outside. When we discovered that the place was getting rowdy, we stepped out only to see policemen dispersing the crowd and shooting directly at the people.

“I sustained bullet wounds, but my brother, who came for my convocation, was shot in the head. He was confirmed dead at the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital and was taken to the mortuary this morning.

 

“As I speak with you, I am at the clinic for my treatment. The wounds are deep, and I can not but seek justice for my innocent brother.”

Asked if he could recognise the policemen who came for the operation, Oluwafemi said he was sure of Saheed SARS because he led them to the place to disperse the crowd.

READ  Navy seizes N3bn worth of stolen crude oil

“I saw him handling the gun; he was shooting with one hand until he shot my brother,” he added.

 

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, said an investigation was ongoing on the matter and that updates would be provided accordingly.

 

“Investigation is ongoing. Updates would be provided accordingly, please,” he wrote in a text message.

 

 

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10 dead as navy helicopters collide mid-air during training

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Two Malaysian military helicopters collided mid-air and crashed, killing all 10 crew members onboard.

The incident happed early Tuesday near the naval base in Lumut, some 200 kilometres north-west of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city.

 

Mohamed Nordin, defence minister, said the aircraft — a maritime operations helicopter and a Fennec military chopper — were rehearsing for a parade celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Royal Malaysian Navy, due to be held on Saturday.

 

One of the helicopters which was said to be carrying seven crew members onboard crashed in a stadium, while the other which had three passengers spiralled down near a swimming pool.

 

Videos circulating on social media showed several helicopters flying in formation, when one of the choppers’ rotor clipped another before both aircraft crashed into the ground.

2 Helicopters with the Royal Malaysian Navy collided earlier today over the Town of Lumut during a Rehearsal for Annual Naval Parade resulting in the Death of all 10 of the Crewmembers; the Helicopters, a AgustaWestland AW139HOM (M503-3) and a AS550 Fennec (M502-6) both Crashed… pic.twitter.com/Z0IwdpMVbG

READ  Navy seizes N3bn worth of stolen crude oil

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 23, 2024

Photos of the crash showed the completely destroyed remains of the aircraft.

 

Nordin said efforts are underway to verify the identities of the crew members killed, all of whom were below the age of 40.

 

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, described the tragedy as “heart-wrenching” and “a great loss for the country”.

 

“Condolences to all the families of the victims and prayers for strength to face this calamity,” Ibrahim added.

 

The Royal Malaysian Navy said it would establish a committee to investigate the cause of the incident.

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Five children found dead inside abandoned vehicle in Niger

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Five children have reportedly died of suffocation inside an abandoned vehicle in the Albishiri area of Minna, the Niger state capital.

 

The children were said to have gone missing on Sunday morning before they were found dead at about 6 p.m. on the same day.

 

Sources in the area said one of the children was the child of the owner of the car while another one was the child of a neighbour.

 

The remaining three were siblings, belonging to one Abdullahi Etsu of Etsu-tasha, from the Albishiri area.

 

In a statement on Monday, Wasiu Abiodun, police spokesperson in Niger,  confirmed the incident.

 

The police spokesperson said the children were between the ages of five and 13.

 

Abiodun said the children were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle in the area.

 

“On 21/4/2024 at about 6.30 pm, based on information received at Kpakungu Div, five children of about 5-13 years of age were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle with Reg No. GO 778 ABC at Albishiri area of Minna,” the statement reads.

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“They were found to have suffocated in the vehicle, while their bodies were later removed by the various Parents, as Police visited the scene.

 

“However, the owner of the vehicle was invited for questioning, as the unfortunate incident is under investigation.”

 

 

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