According to the commandant, Mr. Clement
Adesuyi, preliminary investigation has revealed that the suspects were
attempting to smuggle the petroleum product to neighbouing countries.
Adesuyi,
who said that the suspects were apparently coming from Escravos Apapa, added
that the five men on the Yamaha boat immediately leaped into the sea on
catching sight of his men.
The
suspects abandoned their boat and illegal products and swam to safety.
The Commandant disclosed this on Sunday while
briefing journalists on the activities of suspected pipeline vandals and
smugglers operating in Badagry area.
Adesuyi further
said that the products were intercepted on the high sea in Badagry by his men
after an intelligence reports.
His
words: “We recovered 45 drums of 300
litres each and 72 jerry cans of 25 litres each, one Yamaha boat engine. Five
suspects who were in the boat jumped into the sea to escape arrest. They were
coming from Escravos in Apapa.
“Our men
are still hunting for the fleeing suspects. We have spread our dragnet across
the border line to ensure that our petroleum products are not smuggled out
illegally through the sea.”
Adesuyi
who said his men would have arrested the smugglers, if not because the command
was lacking some basic tools, added: “One
of main challenges in arresting of suspects from the sea is lack of speed boat
engines! We currently have about 30 good swimmers in Badagry alone but we need
bigger engine boats.”
He said
that Nigeria was losing a lot of money daily through the activities of vandals.
“We will make Badagry a hot and prohibited area for criminals destroying our
economy,’’ vowed the commandant.
The
intercepted products had been evacuated to the command headquarters, Alausa,
Ikeja. Adesuyi said that it would all be transferred the NNPC officials.
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