A 60-year-old mother of 15 children has been arrested by the Bayelsa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, for offences bordering on crude oil theft.
The suspect, whose name was given as Victoria Sorkibulor, popularly called mama militant, was arrested at Fish Town, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area by a special team of the corps.
She was paraded at the command of the NSCDC in Yenagoa on Monday alongside two of her workers and two other suspects apprehended by the command for pipeline vandalism.
Sorkibulor was said to be notorious for pipeline vandalism and illegal refining of petroleum products.
It was her workers who led the security operatives to her hideout at Fish Town where she was rounded up and brought to Yenagoa.
While parading the suspects, the state Commandant, NSCDC, Desmond Agu, said the suspects were arrested for unlawful possession of adulterated and illegally refined petroleum products.
He revealed that 20 drums of illegally refined kerosene and Automated Gas Oil were confiscated from the suspects.
According to him, Sorkibulor was arrested shortly after her workers were rounded up while evacuating their illegally refined product in a large wooden boat. He added that the boat was burnt at the point of arrest while the products were confiscated for further investigations and prosecution.
The Commandant informed that all the suspects were arrested on Sunday night at different locations in Southern Ijaw area of the state. He gave the names of other suspects as Goodnews Kurai, Babangida James, Daniel Sokebolou and David Ayibadigenmi.
Items recovered from the suspects include: six Yamaha machines, three pumping machines, seven hoses and a locally-made boat.
The State Commandment vowed to prosecute the suspects, stressing that the NSCDC was determined to stop oil theft and other related crimes in the state.
He further said, “We are warning members of the public to desist from such inimical act. People should think of a better and lawful ways of earning a living.
“We are not going to rest on our oars until we fight illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism to a standstill.”
When interviewed by newsmen, Sorkibulor confessed that she used to be involved in illegal oil theft and the setting up of illegal refineries. She, however, claimed to have repented shortly before her arrest.
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