By Emma Amaize & Sam Oyadongha
WARRI— TWO retired army generals are currently at war with the Commander of the Joint Task Force, JTF, on the Niger-Delta, Major-General Sarkin-Bello over his refusal to release a vessel, MV Tim Begele, which was confiscated last September 29, for illegal bunkering.

Vanguard learnt that one of the retired generals personally visited Major-General Sarkin-Bello at the JTF headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, to plead for the release of the ship, but, the JTF boss refused the overtures, insisting the vessel was caught by men of the task force on illegal bunkering.

A new twist became manifest, weekend, as the Managing Director of Tim Afrique Services, Captain Bob Timondi, told newsmen in Warri that the JTF boss demanded N50 million from the company to release the vessel or it would be forfeited to the Federal Government.

However, Major General Sarkin-Bello has described claims that he demanded N50m to release vessel seized by men of the task force as baseless.

Sarkin-Bello who was reacting to the allegations in Yenagoa said he did not have the power to release a seized vessel caught laden with illegal cargo of stolen crude much less demanding gratification from its owners to have such vessel freed.

Vanguard learnt that contents of the said vessel were sent for laboratory test where the vessel was discovered to be involved in illegal bunkering prompting the JTF authorities to transfer the matter to the EFCC.

It was further learnt that the Port Harcourt office of the commission gave a directive that no prima facie case could be established against the vessel and that it should be release. But the JTF stood its ground and instead forwarded a letter to the chairman of the commission on the need to cause a proper investigation into the matter and prosecution of the perpetrators.

Sarkin-Bello said in an interview that the job of the Joint Task Force, among others, in the region was to arrest any vessel found to have flouted the laws of the land even as he dismissed claims that there was a subsisting court order on the JTF to release seized vessel.

He said the owner of the seized vessel, had made series of entreaties to get the vessel released to no avail adding that he recently came with a retired senior military officer to plead on the issue.

Refusal to comply

The JTF commander said his refusal to comply with the owner’s plea might have led to his resort to blackmail with a view to tarnishing the good work men of the task force had been carrying out to rid the region of illegal bunkering.

He said: “I have no power to release vessels arrested so why should I demand for N50m as alleged. In the history of my stay in the JTF I have never released any vessel arrested. It is entirely false that I demanded gratification from him.”

The JTF boss noted that if he had wanted to make money he would not have joined the army but would have gone into private business adding that whoever made the allegation of his demanding N50m bribe “should be ashamed of himself.”

Sarkin-Bello who described illegal bunkering as the mother of all ills in the Niger Delta said: “It is the base for proliferation of illegal weapons in the troubled region. As we are quite aware, proceeds from illegal bunkering are used to procure weapons and those behind it use to empower their boys for territorial control.”

He also said that he had been receiving threat messages to his life because of his resolute stand against illegal bunkering in the creeks of the Niger Delta, adding:

“I belief these are the guys behind the threat to my life. That I have refused them to eat from the creek of the delta, so if they cannot get you they assassinate your character.”

Describing the illegal trade as multifaceted, Sarkin-Bello noted with sadness that legislation against illegal bunkering was weak stressing that there was the need for special court to try offenders.

Investigation by Vanguard showed that the EFCC, Port-Harcourt, wrote the JTF to release the vessel after its preliminary investigation on the matter, but, a source said: “The JTF believes strongly that some people may have been compromised and that was why they asked that the vessel be released. It, therefore, petitioned the chairman of the EFCC, Abuja over the matter, but, since then, it has not received response.”