The military has challenged former Niger Delta militant, Asari Dokubo to name officers responsible for oil theft in the Niger Delta.
TheHintsNews reports that Dokubo had on Friday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu alleged that some military personnel were responsible for 99 percent dog oil theft in the region.
But reacting to the allegation on Saturday, the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Navy yesterday described the allegation as spurious and unguarded.
The two arms of the military whom the former Niger Delta militant, Asari Dokubo, frontally accused of being responsible for 99 per cent of oil theft in the region challenged him to name the military officers involved.
The Nigerian Navy, reacting through its Spokesman, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, noted that Dokubo’s allegations were the same he had dished out over the years.
He, therefore, challenged the ex-militant leader to intimate Nigerians on his level of involvement in oil theft, accusing him of seeking his own pipeline protection contract.
Ayo-Vaughan stressed that going by the efforts of the military in curbing oil theft in the region, Nigeria regained top spot amongst oil producing countries in Africa.
He stated: “This is the same song he has been singing for years. It’s not a new narrative from him. He should name names and also intimate Nigerians of his level of involvement. He is also looking for his own pipeline protection contract,
“OPEC, NUPRC and others confirmed just yesterday an increase in oil production in the month of May, only yesterday.”
He said the allegation against the military was “spurious and unguarded.”
Ayo-Vaughan pointed out that oil thieves were angry because the land, maritime and air component of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe as well as other operations in the South-south zone of the country sustained the efforts to deny oil thieves avenues to sabotage economy through ongoing “Operation Dakartada Barawo” and sustained a relatively safe and peaceful environment for business activities to strife in the region.
His words: “If Asari Dokubo is seeking some form of relevance and he alleges that there are cabals of military personnel who are involved in crude oil theft, let him bring the names. Nobody is afraid of getting the names of those involved in crude oil theft.
“You cannot make such serious allegations and think that we just sweep it down the carpet, there will be an official response from Defence Headquarters on this matter. The Chief of Defence Staff does not condone that, nor those the Chief of Naval Staff under whom I serve.
“Let him bring the names. The Nigerian Navy is interested in the names of those involved because the Navy has no tolerance for any form of criminalities whatsoever, not even that height of theft as alleged by Asari Dokubo.”
In its response, the Nigerian Army said it had vigorously engaged in the fight against illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, illegal oil refining and other sundry crimes in the region with positive results.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the Nigerian Army remained vigorously engaged in the fight against illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, illegal oil refining and other sundry crimes in the region with positive results.
He maintained that the intervention had produced positive results, adding that this was evident in the increase daily oil production from an abysmally dwindling output in the past.
Nwachukwu said the Nigerian Army had zero tolerance for any compromise on the part of its troops and would not condone any act of economic sabotage.
His words: “The Nigerian Army has zero tolerance for any compromise on the part of our troops and will not condone such acts of economic sabotage. No black sheep will be spared if identified.”