By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South

ONDO State, one of the nine oil states in the Niger Delta is fast becoming the most notorious operating field of a powerful crude oil syndicate allegedly colluding with some security operatives, oil companies, and highly-placed officials to bleed the country.

The operations of the syndicate were subtle, concealed, and protected until, lately, when the Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, blew the whistle that the number of illegal oil pipelines unapologetic-ally connected to national crude oil pipelines in the Niger Delta had hit 4,800.

Kyari did not mention the locations and most susceptible axis in the snowballing oil theft, but informed sources told Saturday Vanguard that the nerve-racking thievery were being perpetrated off the coast of Ondo State by the oil thieves, who specialized in siphoning crude oil from wellheads, especially between Oil Mining Lease, OML 103/110.

Before the NNPCL boss alarm, there had been too many thefts from jackets within the Ondo State coastal waters without trace by security agents.

A top financier of the well-connected consortium is reportedly lobbying for a pipeline surveillance contract job with the NNPCL, ostensibly to obtain backing for the oil mafia
Employees of some oil companies on the payroll of the group are supposedly the professionals who sabotage the well heads by connecting illegal tapping points to the national crude oil pipelines.

The collective has been successful so far in their dealings in the Ondo State axis because of the special covering the members get from some members of the nation’s security agencies.

Syndicate goes underground

However, the syndicate had gone into hiding since December 6, last year, when the operatives of a pipeline surveillance company, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, TSSNL, operated by ex-militant leader, High Chief {Dr.} Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, spotted some of the members stealing crude oil from a well-jacket in Ondo State, under the presumed protection of some personnel of the military.

They came with a 77-meter-long motor tanker, MT VINNALARIS 1, LAGOS, already fastened to the wellhead with a loading hose when Tantita operatives, accompanied by men of the Nigerian Army, and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and acting on intelligence, tracked the syndicate to the crime scene where the vessel was already loading.

The TSSNL team actually caught the syndicated red-handed siphoning crude oil from a wellhead at the EBESAN oil field, about seven nautical miles, off the coast of Awoye riverine community in Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo State.

On the spot, Navy officials reportedly providing cover for the syndicate, fired warning shots and threatened the Tantita team, which wanted to board the thieving vessel to vamoose from the crime scene, but they refused and continued to lay siege.

NSA, and NNPCL urge TSSNL not to backpedal

Conscious of the game the Navy was allegedly playing, the TSSNL escalated the matter to the NNPCL and the National Security Adviser, NSA. Saturday Vanguard learned that the NSA and NNPCL contacted the Chief of Naval Staff and other security chiefs on the goings-on, and the necessity to carry out a methodical investigation, rein-in the culprits, and cleanse the Augean stable.

Our sources said they encouraged the TSSNL to continue with its work and not relent on its activities despite whose odd is gored, but the tough disposition of Tompolo’s men, who do not want to do business as usual with the oil thieves, has posed a serious threat to the security agents that have chosen to compromise.

Tantita’s Executive Director of Operations and Technical, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, hinted that TSSNL was following the scent of an industry expert residing in Edo State, who specialized in tampering with well jackets for illegal off-take by ships by the syndicate.

The expert is one of the persons currently on the run, as they had been directed to lie low until the hunt cools off.

Said Enisuoh, “What makes the ship that is stealing crude oil feel so secure and connect hose …As we speak; we know who connected the hose.”

“The fellow who connected the hose is on the run… He is in Benin, we have his phone number, and we have everything. He is an expert in connecting hoses to crude pipelines. This is not the first time, that area is notorious for ships coming to steal crude.”

Navy never accepted indictment

The Nigerian Navy never accepted the allegation that its men were providing cover for the syndicate. Rather, the Navy spokesperson, Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, last month, explained that the organization, which declined to allow other government security outfits that were on ground access to the thieving vessel, arrested 17 crew members on board engaged in illegal siphoning of crude oil.

“Notably, as the anti-Crude Oil Theft Patrol Team of the Forward Operating Base, FOB, Igbokoda approached MT VINNALARIS 1, LAGOS, the two boats attached to the vessel fled on sighting the Naval personnel which confirmed the engagement of the vessel in illegality.

“Accordingly, on arrival at the scene, it was discovered that the vessel was actively involved in siphoning crude oil from both sides of the wellhead. Consequently, upon further interrogation, it was further discovered that the vessel had on-board 17 crew members of Nigerian nationality.

“The vessel’s storage capacity is about 15,000 metric tonnes, and as of the time of arrest, she had loaded about 500 metric tonnes of crude oil.

“Again, it was upon the arrest of the vessel by the Nigerian Navy that TSS {read TSSNL} began to raise false alarms, totally unfounded and indeed mischievous,” Ayo-Vaughan said.
The Navy accused TSSNL of collusion in “these illegalities,” saying the “Awoye riverine area which is close to the place of arrest is covered by TSS {read TSSNL.}”

More narration

The Navy clarification conflicts with the TSSNL story by Captain Enisuoh, who explained how the company tracked the vessel from a neighbouring country, Ghana, until it entered Nigeria and navigated to Ondo State, where the syndicate had found a haven until recently.

Unknown to the Navy, TSSNL, which had prior intelligence of the departure from Ghana to Nigeria for oil theft, deliberately, did not disclose its intelligence for obvious reasons.

According to Enisuoh, “We did not reveal much when it comes to this particular ship, we took interest in this ship in 2018. What I will tell you will shock you. This ship started stealing oil in Nigeria in 2018; we were not present at that time.”

“We kept monitoring every situation, and mind you; Tantita contract never stated that that area is under our responsibility. Maybe those who are talking may avail themselves of my contract terms; we got our information from Ghana, who told us that the ship had departed Ghana to come and steal oil in Nigeria.

This was around November 10, we knew about it, we knew the ship is well connected and we followed the ship until it switched off its electronic signature, about three weeks ago
We have to create an umbrella over the Niger Delta region, and we kept monitoring. Let me tell you the history of this ship. First, it used the Sierra Leonean flag to steal from Nigeria, and nobody could catch it, we were not here at the time, second, it came close to Nigeria, possibly scared of the previous administration’s (Buhari) stand against oil theft.

“It kept its flag as Togolese, but see, something very ironic, in May, this year; it changed its flag to Nigeria. It is connected to somebody, who thinks he has won, and we can steal now.
“So, who was being protected, when we caught this particular ship, we followed it for over a month until we got intelligence that it is in the area.

“We left in the morning (on December 7) to make sure that we secured the ship, but on our way there, we got further intelligence that it has four AK-47 rifles with banks of ammunition on board. They (oil thieves) are becoming smarter.

“These ship owners and management registered them in Odessa, Ukraine. We did not reveal that because we know that if we revealed a lot at that time, we would not have apprehended the ship. It is on Oscar Street in Odessa

“Therefore, when we set out, we got intelligence about the arms on board, we said okay; hang around the area until we get back-up. While waiting for the backup, we believe they (oil bunkers) saw us and contacted their shore supporters to come to their rescue, which was how the fracas started.

Captain Enisuoh, who confirmed that the Navy prevented from accessing the going on-board the vessel to find out the crude oil pumped by the ship, however, said, “Tantita does not know if Navy is protecting anybody.”

“We do not know, and that was why we wanted a joint investigation. I would use this opportunity to request that nobody should sweep this matter under the carpet; there is more ship than meets the eye. There is much documentation on-board that ship, which we need to see.

More than meet the eyes

It is somewhat curious that while the Tantita explained its role in the allegation of complicity leveled against it by the Navy, the Navy on its part, for nearly a month, has not come clean on the allegations of complicity and open investigation demanded by the TSSNL in the MT VINNALARIS 1, LAGOS saga.

For instance, Tantita asked the Nigerian Navy to allow it to bring the said motor tanker for further investigation, produce the crew taken off the vessel for questioning; and make sure the stolen crude oil is not pumped out and the ship cleaned up, but the Navy has seemingly not granted its request.

Tantita also called for the investigation of “the connection and acclaimed transactions between the sponsor and the said pipeline surveillance company approaching NNPCL for a contract,” and “the activities of the two employees of two petroleum companies as there has been one too many crude oil theft from jackets within the vicinity.”

It demanded an inquiry “into the shooting directed at Tantita operatives, soldiers, and NCDSC officials attached to them {TSSNL} by the Nigerian Navy personnel on the gunboat marked – P 491.”

Until the time of this report, there has been no public statement from the National Security Adviser, Minister of Defence, and the Chief of Naval State ordering a clear–cut inquiry on the scandalous December 6 oil theft scandal in Ondo State to prevent a re-occurrence.

Practically, the whole thing appears to be gathering time, after which the powers-that-be would sweep it under the carpet as habitual in the country.