The Nigerian Army on Sunday publicly set ablaze two petroleum tankers after they were impounded for siphoning crude oil from a burst pipeline at Ugo, along Benin/Abraka road in Edo State.
The Commander, Operation Thunder Storm in Edo state Col. Idris Lawan, supervised the burning alongside the safety department of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Lawan said the tankers were arrested by the Nigeria Army pipeline protection team who acted on a tip off.
While noting that owners of the tankers escaped on citing security team, he however noted that the burning would serve as a deterrent to others.
While reiterating the army earlier vow to stop pipeline vandalism in the area, Lawan advised those in the business to desist before the long arm of the law caught up with them.
Giving reasons for the burning, the Lieutenant Colonel explained that this would have been prevented had the owners been caught, adding “You can see that one of the tankers already loaded with crude while the other was caught while positioning to load”.
“If we had caught those using the tankers to steal crude, we would not have performed this exercise of burning but prosecute the owners,” he explained.
He said the Army was collaborating with other security agencies to bring pipeline vandalism to an end in Edo and environs, pointing out that the tankers with registration number XC 808 AKL and ABJ 678 XA, have installed capacity of 33, 000 litres and 42, 000 litres respectively.
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