Operatives
OpenLife Nigeria has reliably gathered that the Nigerian Navy has reportedly thwarted an attempted oil theft operation in Lekki Waters and apprehended four individuals connected to TANTITA Security Service, a company owned by former Niger Delta militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo.
The operation was disrupted following a distress call from residents in the Itolu community, Lekki, who reported gunshots from the waterside.
Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga, the Commander of NNS Beecroft, disclosed during a press conference that the suspects were arrested while attempting to steal a boat engine from a local resident.
He further explained the sequence of events, saying that on August 29, 2023, the Nigerian Navy received a distress call regarding gunshots near the Itolu community in Lagos State.
Naval patrol teams swiftly responded to the distress call and encountered four individuals dressed in black polo shirts with “TANTITA” inscribed on the back.
The suspects were trying to retrieve a dismantled outboard engine from a local resident.
After arresting the individuals, the naval patrol team discovered that they were part of a larger operation involving a wooden boat and two fiber boats. The larger wooden boat was found to be carrying 11 x 1000L Geepee tanks suspected to contain stolen crude oil.
The arrested individuals are identified as Asonja Goddey (28), Obajimi Oluwaseyifunmi (38), Awoowo Aribo (35), and Oluwadaisi Balogun (40), all from Igbokoda in Ondo State.
The owner of the boat they attempted to use, Ishola Ojubuyi (42), was also taken into custody.
The Nigerian Navy has initiated an investigation into the incident to determine various aspects, including the source of firearms used in the community, potential economic sabotage, the origin of the product (suspected stolen crude oil), and the attempted theft of the boat engine from locals.
All suspects and confiscated exhibits will be handed over to appropriate agencies for further necessary action and prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Coordinator of TANTITA Security Service, Idowu Asonja, in a press statement, alleged that their men were after the real culprits who owned the wooden boat laden with crude products.
Asonja also alleged that the NAVY was paid to guide the vessel.
He said, “It is a pathetic and worrisome moment in the western corridor of the Niger Delta states as Nigerian Navy officers arrested four of the Tantita security guards in Ondo/Ogun Zone after the Tantita guards successfully apprehended a wooden vessel fully loaded with crude oil.
“This afternoon, it happens that the Navy security initially were parading a wooden vessel loaded with crude oil, after a while, they released the vessel which was fully loaded with crude oil by some oil thieves.
“Meanwhile, the Tantita security guards were monitoring the matter and later bombarded the vessel after discovering that the Navy officers were paid to guide the vessel. This notorious act/display by the Navy officers provoked the Tantita guards in the area to pursue the vessel, which they later succeeded in arresting.
“To our greatest surprise, the owners of the vessel ran away and came back to the scene with some Nigerian Navy officers working at the Dangote Refinery, which resulted in a conflict and finally, the Navy officers attacked my men, later arrested four of the Tantita security guards from Ondo zone, and set free the wooden vessel.”
Federal Government on August 22, 2022, awarded the contract of protecting oil pipelines to TANTITA Security Service, but there has been controversy over the contract with Nigerians disagreeing on whether it should be revoked or not.
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