The war against illegal oil bunkering and oil theft received a huge boost on Wednesday as troops of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt uncovered over 40 dugout crude oil wells in Rumuekpe community, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The troops uncovered the site during a sweep-and-clear operation on the Trans Niger Delta Pipeline.
The operation was led by the General Officer Commanding 6 Division, Maj. Gen. Jamal Abdussalam.
Speaking to journalists after the operation, Abdussalam said the oil wells, which were about 40 feet deep, were the latest technique employed by criminals in stealing crude oil from underground.
The GOC described the discovery as an eye-opener for the army in the war against oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
He explained that the miscreants had invented a technique of digging deep into the ground until they reached the crude oil deposits.
Abdussalam stated, “We have been conducting in the past two days and the aim of the operation was to clear the trans-Niger Delta pipeline because we have been receiving complaints from the SPDC of breaches on the TNP and based on that we decided to conduct an operation to sweep and clear the pipeline.
“It was in the course of that operation that we came to this particular location and you (journalists) have seen what we have seen.
“If you are not here, you may not believe what we are seeing. In this area, our troops have discovered more than 40 dugouts and these dugouts are not meant to access pipelines, they are dug out directly into the ground like well and surprisingly have access to crude oil.
“This is the first time I’m seeing this type of thing. You can see all around us are pits and very deep, you will need ladders to have access to them and at the bottom is crude oil. So, they are just fetching crude just like water from a well”.
The GOC described the discovery as saddening.
“It is entirely a new dimension. This is not an issue of pipeline vandalism, this one is digging directly into the ground and having access to these resources”, he remarked.
Abdussalam said he would notify the authorities of the development, pointing out that troops would be permanently stationed at the site to halt the illegal operations at the site.
“I will bring the attention of the relevant authorities to this site so that they can come and see what can be done.
“But in the meantime, our men would be deployed so that we can stop people from accessing the area because it is even dangerous to the people involved in this because a little fire will kill everyone conducting this dastardly act.
“It is also not good for the system. See how the whole place has been dug out. It is also very dangerous for people who are not even aware of this because they can come blindly at night and fall inside this pit and that is the end.
“We would do the needful; we would not get tired until we rid this area of these criminals”.
He further said some suspects arrested at the scene were still in the custody of the army as investigation continues.
“Few people have been arrested, they are in our custody, we hope they will give us useful information that would lead to the arrest of others that are involved in this act”.
Answering questions from newsmen, one of the suspects confessed to the crime, saying the wells belonged to different families in the community.
He revealed that sometimes diggers die in the process of digging the wells when they inhale the smell of the gas, saying they were usually paid about N40,000 to excavate a well of about 15 feet.
The suspects, whose name was not revealed as of the time of filing this report, stated, “It is owned by the community and not by one person.
“To get oil, sometimes if the place is like here, we dig like 10 to 15 feet. When we dig it and notice that the gas is rising, if you do not run out on time people might suffocate and we bring them out half-dead, but the unlucky ones die.
“When we bring them out, we pour water on them and give them coke. After the gas the oil will come out and another set will come to fetch it after we have finished digging it”.
