A former Niger Delta agitator, Asari Dokubo, said President Bola Tinubu has promised to take a “decisive action” against military personnel behind the oil theft in Niger Delta.
He said the oil theft that has taken place in the region for the past eight years was unprecedented.
Dokubo disclosed this Friday while addressing State House Correspondents after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
His words: “The Army and Navy are behind oil theft. They intimidate civil defence, who are by law expected to protect installations. They tap directly from the oil head. What has been happening in the last eight years is unprecedented anywhere in the world.”
Dokubo further alleged that officers and men of the army and navy deployed to protect oil installations “set up facilities they call local refineries,” which he described as a crime against humanity.
He added: “The livelihood of the people is being destroyed. The main culprits are the army and navy. There are notorious army commanders who are known to be the ones behind oil bunkering.
Dokubo, however, noted that with the election of Tinubu and the support he enjoys from people like him and many others, there would be zero oil theft in the Niger Delta.
He stated: “There are powerful persons based in Abuja that are behind it, but in President Tinubu, they have met their match. Many people will find their way to Kuje.”
Dokubo said he had been “very close to the president for over 30 years,” adding that he had received assurances that Tinubu will “take decisive action to make sure that this does not continue”.
The Niger Delta activist said he had already been offering services to the Nigerian government, which led to the relative peace being enjoyed along the Abuja/Kaduna expressway.
He noted: “I have volunteered to assist to do the things that are necessary to stop the evil going on. There are full-scale wars going on in different parts of this country.
“The blackmail of the Nigerian state by the military is shameful. They are lying to say that they don’t have equipment. I am a participant in this war; I side with the government of Nigeria.
“Kaduna-Abuja is free now not because of the army; it is my men stationed in Niger State.
“We don’t even have 1 per cent armament deployed by the Nigerian Army, and we have resounding success. This blackmail must stop. They have enough armaments; instead of fighting, they are busy making money.
“Where is the Dogo today, he has been served the dish that he has been serving others. One individual is carrying two magazines of AK 47 ammunition and succeeding. The Army carries 20 to 30 in their vehicles. On slight attacks, they will abandon these ammunition to the bandits,” he added.
Dokubo also kicked against the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, saying his release will not ease the tensions in the South-East, rather, it would fuel impunity.
According to him, During EndSars, Nnamdi Kanu was walking free. What did he do? He poured petrol on the flames of EndSars. Now, he has been caught. What of the people who have died? This is a criminal. He should face the law. Releasing Nnamdi Kanu is rewarding criminality and rewarding gruesome murder of innocent people. He should face the law for the actions and instigations he has carried out.