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The Ebonyi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, said it uncovered a suspected illegal petroleum refinery in Abakaliki, the state capital.
The corps said it impounded an articulated vehicle with the number plate Abuja ABC 624 XC, about to discharge 45,000 litres of suspected stolen unrefined petroleum product at the refinery.
Francis Nnadi, the NSCDC state commandant, announced this in a press conference on Monday in Abakaliki, noting that four suspected oil thieves involved in the illegal transportation of the product were also arrested.
According to him: “Our men on Saturday night, acting on credible intelligence, tracked a truck ladened with unrefined suspected petroleum product conveyed from Cross River to Abakaliki.
He said, “The vehicle and four suspects involved in the illegal activity were arrested at a remote but densely populated area located at 18 Engr. Abbas Egwu Street, off Ebonyi Voice Newspaper, along the Old Abakaliki-Enugu Road.
Nnadi said that the premises used for the alleged illegal refinery have been sealed, stressing that further investigations are ongoing to unmask those involved in the economic sabotage.
He further disclosed that the impounded product would undergo laboratory analysis while the suspects would be arraigned in court at the end of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Ben Nwachi, the officer who led the NSCDC crack team that intercepted and arrested the suspects, said in an interview with newsmen: “The truck is billed to go to Cross River and according to the waybill, what is written there is Low Poor Fuel Oil, but it is a suspected crude oil product.
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