Omon-Julius Onabu
7 January 2009
Warri — Story of the six Ghanaians and a Nigerian arrested in connection with illegal oil bunkering in Delta State Tuesday took a new dimension, as the suspects claimed that they were engaged by a Lagos-based Nigerian businessman.
However, hopes that the revelation could pave way for the unmasking of the big fish behind the multi-billion illicit oil business in the Niger-Delta and Nigeria might be dashed, because the suspects were unwilling to reveal their sponsor.
They simply said they were working for the businessman simply known as "Captain Ken, a Yoruba man based in Lagos," who probably owned or hired the ship and brought it from Ghana into the Nigerian waters, supposedly for repairs.
Moreover, the Joint Task Force (JTF) which carried out the arrest also appeared reluctant to take confessional statements of the suspects, as a possible lead that would enable them pursue and arrest the first real baron among Niger-Delta oil thieves since its inception in 2003.
The suspects were arrested with their vessel by JTF at the Chanomi Creek in Delta State at about 3.15 a.m. on December 29, 2008.
The spokesman told journalists that although the vessel had not been sucessfully navigated to the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) jetty in Warri, reportedly due to tidal variations, JTF had successfully brought it to the surface when it was going under at a point.
The ship, whose original name is "Sandra Velleta Lagos," but disguised as "MT Hope," was already loaded with suspected stolen crude oil "to the tune of 4,000 metric tons - that is, 25, 000 barrels - which, if monetised, runs into millions of dollars," the Joint Media Campaign Centre (JMCC) Co-ordinator, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, said.
However, although leader of the suspects, 42-year-old Opoku Frank Anim, who is from Tema Region of Ghana, was apparently economical with details of their ill-fated voyage.
His compatriot, Wellington Adobah, 51, claimed that they were provided a local pilot by their employer, and told that they were taking the ship for repairs at the Escravos waters in Warri, South-west Local Government Area of Delta State.
Parading the suspects before newsmen at the JTF headquarters in Effurun, near Warri, JTF Spokesman said they could not use the statements of "those we caught in the real act of illegal bunkering" to go after the elusive barons, to arrest them.
Other Ghanaian suspects paraded included, Kwesi Eminsang, 48, from Tema Region; Ernest Anim, 35, from Greater Ghana Region; Abraham Yao-Ahiabor George, 50, from Tema Region; and Seth Kpodzime, 49, from Volta Region.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
