Two minors and a pregnant woman were among the suspects who were charged with stealing petroleum products near a canal in Iju-Osun, the state's Irele local government area.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has detained a group of people in Ondo for engaging in illegal oil bunkering.
Two minors and a pregnant woman were among the suspects who were charged with stealing petroleum products near a canal in Iju-Osun, the state's Irele local government area.
According to Hammed Abodunrin, the NSCDC commandant in Ondo, the suspects were apprehended with 23,600 litres of contaminated fuel.
The suspects did not identify where they obtained the product from, Mr. Abodunrin stated.
“One of them is a heavily pregnant woman, and two are minors, so we decided not to take them into custody because of their conditions,” the commandant explained.
Mr. Abodunrin further pointed out that the suspects' merchandise was hidden in kegs, drums, and polythene bags that were loaded into five wooden boats.
“We have taken their statements. Whenever we need them, we will pick them up, and we are going to conduct an investigation immediately and take them to court as soon as we conclude our investigation,” he stated.
He said the suspects' detention followed an order by the NSCDC commandant-general Ahmed Abubakar Audi to restructure and improve the operations of the Corps' anti-vandalism unit.
Mr. Abodunrin stated that the NSCDC was fully committed to pursuing economic saboteurs stealing from the government.
He, therefore, issued a warning to criminally inclined individuals to avoid Ondo.
“It is a renewed fight against oil theft, against economic sabotage and a renewed fight to ensure that citizens can be sure of what their country can give them,” he said.