119 Tons of Stolen Crude Siphoned Before Our Arrest, Captain of MT Kali Confesses

Captain of MT Kali, the vessel arrested last Thursday by operatives of Tantita Security Services Limited (TSSL) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Bayelsa State, David Adeboye, has confirmed that the vessel had already siphoned 119 tons of stolen crude oil at the point of arrest.

Adeboye gave the confirmation yesterday, during a parade of the arrested vessel, crew members and some local accomplices that were apprehended in Bayelsa State, at Oporoza in Warri South West local government area of Delta State.

He said he was instructed to test-run the vessel which had been anchored for over a year and carried out some maintenance on it before the voyage to Bayelsa State.

"When we set out from Lagos State, the boat had been in Lagos for more than a year. They were doing some maintenance on it. So when we came out, we were instructed to test-run the engine. So for like 10 miles and after 10 miles, we were satisfied that it could go as far as Bayelsa, then we should let them know", he said.

After a successful test run, Adeboye said he and the crew were told to sail to Bayelsa State and return to Lagos State with diesel.

According to him, on anchoring the vessel in Bayelsa State, the local agent he spoke to said it was diesel that was the original plan in his statement but didn't know when crude was delivered into the vessel.

"So at which point did it now turn to crude, that is what I am still battling with up till now. Currently, we have 119 tonnes of crude oil on board the vessel. The agent brought his boys and at the end of the day filled the vessel with crude", he said.

Director of Operations of TSSL, Captain Warredi Enusuo said the vessel, crew and some local accomplices were caught last Thursday stealing crude oil from one of the several platforms in Pennington Oil Field in Bayelsa State.

He stated that both human and technical intelligence were deployed to track the vessel, over time, before her eventual impoundment. He also confirmed that the vessel had been involved in illegal oil thefts in the past.

The director of operations disclosed that those campaigning against involvement of private security companies were into illegal bunkering whose illegal activities were disrupted by their engagement and operations.

"We want to seize this opportunity to let Nigerians know that those who campaign against the private security companies in participating in this fight are bunkerers.

"They can continue but we will not relent, we will not relent in our efforts towards fighting this. We will continue to be resilient and we will definitely assist the country in resolving this.

“We will assist also the Nigerian security forces, which are happy to participate in securing our assets to do this job," he said.