Dokubo's outburst: FG's silence triggers concerns

DAILY POST

On Friday, June 17, former Niger Delta militants’ leader, Asari Dokubo stirred the hornet’s nest when he accused the military of being complicit in the oil theft in the region, and equally threatened to kill the Igbo in their numbers.

This heavy threat and allegation were released right inside the presidential villa where he had gone to see the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He emphatically declared that some cabals in the military were neck deep in the unfortunate operation of oil theft in the Niger Delta, which has brought the country’s oil production to its lowest ebb, and at the same time affected the total oil revenue, and by extension, brought untold economic hardship to Nigerians.

But the Nigerian Navy, in a quick response to Dokubo’s allegation, described it as spurious, and even challenged him to produce evidence to that effect.

The Director of Naval Information, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan did not only challenge Dokubo to produce evidence of his claims, he also challenged him to mention the names of those he said were behind the criminality.

Ayo-Vaughan noted that the Nigerian military, and particularly the Navy, had been at the forefront of fighting crude oil theft at all levels in the country, stressing that those involved in the theft launched a two-pronged approach to the illicit business.

“While crude oil being stolen from pipelines was being refined in the creeks for the local market and local buyers, it was also being stolen by criminals from offshore at the sea.

“You remember the case of MT HEROIC IDUN that was made to pay fines to the Nigerian government after it was arrested and brought back from Guinea Bissau, Malabo Island and made to face court orders.