Soldiers of the 181 Battalion of the Nigerian Army,Oleh in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State in joint operation with operatives of TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited have seized a Vacuum truck laddened with stolen crude oil at Well-head(3) in Olomoro Community.
Actual news gathered that the driver of the Vacuum truck one Matthew Ojomikre was arrested .
The suspect was arrested on Monday after he illegally stole crude oil from well four(3) in Olomoro Community.
The Wellhead (3) is under OML 30 and it’s owned by Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited.
It was learnt that the suspect went to the well-head with the Vacuum truck
without the permission and license from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC to illegally load crude oil.
It was at the point of him leaving the crime scene that he was accosted by the soldiers who eventually informed operatives of TANTITA Security Services of his activities and was arrested.
When interrogated, the suspect confessed that his company was contracted by Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited to help Evacuate sludge from well 3, Olomoro but without any formal approvals or documents to show that such activity was to be carried out as it used to be.
It was learnt that Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited used to send Crude and condensate trucking permits to officers of the Nigerian Army and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd for proper monitoring from the loading point to that of discharge.
At the time of filing this report,Officers of Tantita Security Services, in collaboration with Heritage team and the Nigeria Army, have collected samples from the vacuum truck for laboratory testing and analysis.
However,the confessional statement from the truck drivers shows that he went illegally to collect crude from Well 3, Olomoro, in the guise of helping to evacuate sludge from the wellheads.
It was also gathered that the owners of the Vacuum truck who have been allegedly involved in unauthorized evacuation of crude within Isoko axis are trying to play games to influence the release of the driver and save him from prosecution as well as prevent his truck from being set ablaze or investigated.
At the moment stakeholders are calling on the Department of State Security,DSS and Special Intelligence and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,NNPCL to investigate the activities of the company that owned the Vacuum truck.
They said before the driver of the Vacuum truck is supposed to go the well head, he should have possessed NUPRC licence of evacuation, notified the Military and TANTITA Security Services Nigeria Limited for proper supervision by Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited.
The stakeholders stressed that,”Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited ought to have copied the military and TANTITA but only the driver went to the well head, loaded the crude and left. It was on his way out, the military accosted him and called TANTITA.”
