The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has convicted and sentenced nine of 19 persons arrested for crude oil theft to a cumulative 10-year jail term each, without an option of fine.
The convicts were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy, during an intelligence-led operation in Ibeno Local Government Area of the state.
Delivering judgment on Monday, the presiding judge, Justice Joy Ikpeme, found the nine suspects guilty on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and tampering with an oil pipeline, contrary to Section 1(7) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
Justice Ikpeme sentenced each of the convicts to five years imprisonment on count one and 10 years on count two, with no option of fine.
The court, however, ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
The convicts were among 19 suspects arrested earlier in the year following a joint operation by the DSS and the Nigerian Navy.
The suspects were reportedly caught in the act of stealing crude oil from an oil wellhead identified as ASABO-D in Ibeno Local Government Area.
A security source described the conviction as another significant breakthrough in the ongoing crackdown on crude oil theft and illegal bunkering in Nigeria’s oil-producing and riverine communities.
The source said the activities of oil thieves and illegal refiners had continued to deprive the country of vital oil revenue while inflicting serious environmental damage on host communities.
The source said the latest conviction would further strengthen the resolve of security agencies to dismantle criminal networks involved in oil theft and pipeline vandalism across the country.
