16th March, 2017
The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS), DELTA, Commodore Ibrahim Dewu, on Thursday said the command had uncovered another vandalised Oil Well Head in Delta.
Dewu told newsmen in Warri that the well head, belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), was uncovered in Uobodede community in Warri South Local Government Area.
He said that the vandalised facility was discovered on Tuesday and that navy divers were still battling to lock it.
Naval operatives had in February uncovered a vandalised well head in the same Uobodede community.
The commander appealed to Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa to compel the community leaders to monitor the movement of persons in their domain.
“This is the second time we are uncovering vandalised well head belonging to the NPDC in one month and in the same community.
“This discovery is another landmark for the navy.
“The perpetrators syphoned huge quantity of crude oil through the vandalised facilities.
“Divers from the Navy Special Squad are trying to halt the flow of crude oil from the vandalised facilities.
“Tons of crude oil have spilled from the underground storage facilities constructed by the criminals, thus polluting the water and the environment,” he said.
Dewu said the navy would, however, not relent on its efforts to combat illegalities in the maritime domain in line with the directives of the Chief of Naval Staff.
He decried the harmful effects of pipeline vandalism on the ecosystem and warned perpetrators to desist from sabotaging the national asset or face the full wrath of the law.