By OKOSUN DENNIS
The Nigerian Navy in Lagos on Thursday said it had intercepted and impounded two wooden boats carrying 649 drums and other equipment from suspected pipeline vandals at the Badagry area of Lagos.
The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT), Commodore Abraham Adaji said in Apapa that the operation and the seizure carried out by his men on May 11.
The operation was led by Enefu, said that the vandals, numbering about 10, on sighting the naval team fled into the bush to evade arrest.
He said, “While on our routine patrol, on getting to Badagry area to make arrest from the information that we received, the suspected vandals began to run away. Unfortunately for them, we intercepted these two wooden boats from them.
“When they saw us coming, they fled and abandoned these two wooden boats alongside their equipment,” Enefu said.
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Adaji reiterated that the navy would not rest on its oars, vowing to rid the country’s waterways of oil thieves and vandals.
He explained that “649 drums each of the capacity of 250 litres totalling over 162 metric tons of products that these vessels would have been carted away from national supplies.
“What you see today is the testimony of our on-going efforts to ensure that all matters of vandalism and pillage of our common wealth is arrested,” he said.
Adding that it was an organised crime, pointed out that there were nine out-boated engines. Some of the items that were recovered included four pumping machines, engines, petrol to power their boats, and food items. Others were several hoses, few lube oils /engine oil, and pumping machines.”
Commodore Adaji said the boats were already been destroyed, adding that the navy is “fully equipped and ready to fight to an end, pipeline vandalism and oil theft”.