The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced the commencement of investigations into the activities of eight suspected oil thieves in Rivers State. These suspects were handed over to the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the EFCC by the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base, Akiama Road, Bonny Island, Rivers State, on January 10, 2024.

The EFCC, in a statement on its website, disclosed that the suspects were apprehended with an unspecified quantity of illegally acquired Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel, along the Bonny Channel. The Naval Hand-Over Officer, Lieutenant Commander G.Y. Gwaza, reported that the vessel, MV Cabrini, and its eight crew members were detained during an operation on November 8, 2023. Subsequently, the suspected oil thieves were transferred to the EFCC for further investigation and potential prosecution.

In response, Chief Superintendent Itoro Levi, representing the EFCC, received the suspects and pledged that a thorough and professional investigation would be conducted in the case. Levi also expressed gratitude to the Navy for its collaborative efforts with the anti-graft agency.

Furthermore, The PUNCH reported that on December 12, 2023, the Nigerian Navy handed over three arrested suspects to the police for allegedly facilitating a fake oil approval for a Marine Vessel named Mother Gabrini in Rivers State. During a press briefing, Commodore Desmond Igbo, the Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, disclosed that the vessel was intercepted on November 8 for suspected illegal bunkering activities near the Forward Operating Base in the Bonny Council of the state.

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