In its determination to curb the menace of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region, particularly Akwa Ibom State, the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday arraigned two additional suspects bringing the total to nineteen suspects facing trial for alleged crude oil theft.
Those brought before the Magistrate Court sitting at Fulga road Uyo yesterday included Arepade Dominic Ekprese and Benson Ekiokekeme Innocent, who were earlier on the run.
The Magistrate Court which declined jurisdiction over the matter due to gravity of the said offence citing relevant portions of the constitution however remanded the suspects at Uyo Medium Correctional facility for an initial period of twenty-one days .
Our Correspondent gathered that the Federal High Court which is handling the matter is on recess which prompted the DSS’ resort to the Magistrate Court for a legal order to detain the suspects pending resumption of the Federal High Court for proper trial.
Our Correspondent also gathered that the alleged offence committed on 9th April, 2026 was bursted following an intelligence driven operation led by Joint Task Force - South South, Operation Delta Safe(JTF-SS OPDS) which arrested twenty-six crew members and two motorized tankers namely MT WESTAF and MT MKPODU.
The two vessels were arrested while siphoning crude oil from a platform operated by a major oil company operating on the shores of Akwa Ibom State.
It could be recalled that seventeen of the suspects and the two vessels were earlier arraigned before the Federal High Court, Uyo and have been remanded at the Medium Security Correctional Center, Uyo pending resumption of the matter in September.
A security source also revealed that the ongoing intelligence driven anti- crude oil theft operations across the Niger Delta region is part of Federal Government’s resolve to shore up the nation's daily crude oil production which will in turn increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
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