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John Adams, Minna
The Niger State Command has arrested three people for allegedly vandalizing NNPC pipeline and scooping fuel from the burst pipeline in Suleja, suleja Local Government Area of the state.
The suspects, Daniel Joshua, 37; Sunday Ezekiel, 33 and Suleiman Madaki, 29 were arrested by a team of police operatives attached to A Division Suleja following a tip off.
All the suspects who confessed to the crime, were said to belong to a syndicate of petroleum products’ pipeline vandals in the Suleja area of the state.
It gathered that the suspects who were paraded at the police headquarters in Minna on Tuesday had been in the business for over five years.
The leader of the syndicate, Daniel Joshua told our correspondent that they earn their living by bursting NNPC pipeline, scooping the fuel and sell it at cheaper rate to the members of the public.
“Bursting of NNPC pipeline is a thriving business we don’t joke with that is the quickest way to put food on our table. Any time we burst the pipeline we are sure of making reasonable money that will last for four months for us before thinking how to burst it again”, he explained.
The spokesman of the Command, ASP Wasiu Abiodun who paraded the suspects said the suspects had confessed to the crime.
H pointed out, “The command has vowed to deal ruthlessly with any person found vandalising petroleum products’ pipelines in the state.
“We will continue to nip in the bud cases of violent crimes and act of sabotage on critical infrastructure in the state.”
Abiodun said that the exhibits recovered from them include, six 25 litres jerricans with PMS, forty-eight empty jerricans, eight drilling bits, one drilling machine, a chisel, a hammer, a shovel, four plastic containers and a funnel.
He said the matter would be charged to after investigation.
