By EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

PORT HARCOURT— Trade Union Congress, TUC, has again accused the Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta of aiding and abetting oil theft and related crimes in the region.

TUC chairman in Rivers State, Mr. Chika Onuegbu, yesterday, said oil theft in the Niger Delta would not thrive if the authorities charged with the task of policing the environment were not colluding in the act.

He said an aerial investigation revealed that the areas where oil theft thrived most were known to all, adding that the perpetrators were not faceless.

He said: “If the JTF, Operation Pulo Shield, has been operating as they claimed, how come oil thieves are doing these things openly? Remember this is a business that is very lucrative. So it is a partnership.

“My view is that it is not as if the JTF is the one doing it, but there are some officers of JTF, who are conniving with the criminals.”

To arrest the continued oil theft in the region, he challenged JTF, if it meant well, to identify and arrest those involved in the nefarious activity in order to serve as a deterrent to others.