Firm Raises Alarm Over Police Complicity In Pipeline Vandalism
The Managing Director of Donyx Global Concepts Limited, one of the companies contracted by the NNPC to secure its pipelines, Femi Ekundayo, has raised alarm on the activities of some “unscrupulous men of the Nigeria police, who have been unrepentant in their association with saboteurs of the Nigerian economy.”
Speaking with NigerianEcho, Ekundayo said the recent happenings in Igando area of Lagos State and Sagamu in Ogun State have further confirmed his claims that some policemen purporting to be members of the Inspector General of Police Task Force on Anti Pipeline Vandalization are working hand in hands with pipeline vandals.
“We passionately appeal to the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force, Solomon Arase to order an extensive investigation into the modus operandi of the task force team and ascertain their roles in the killing of four policemen in Igando and the extra judicial killing of our staff in Sagamu”, Ekundayo said.
He noted that his organisation is ready to work with the Nigerian Police but the situation must be clear.
“We are not aversed to working with the police or any other law enforcement agency but we condemn in strong terms, the treacherous activities of some police operatives masquerading as members of the Inspector General of Police Task Force on Pipeline Vandalization.
“Our information is that the affected policemen in Igando and the leader of their gang were negotiating bribe with vandals, when armed vandals attacked them and killed them, before throwing their bodies into the lagoon
“The action of the policemen in Obadore-Igando though some distance from the pipeline, we hold was a clear disregard to the directive of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan , who directed that all pipeline protection operations should be handed over to our companies in these areas.
“The Sagamu incident was more worrisome as law abiding residents of the community watched in horror as policemen claiming to be from the same task force killed in cold blood a federal government contractor in an attempt to facilitate the release of arrested pipeline vandals.
“The task force has in recent times done more harm than good to the image of the Nigerian Police Force and by extension to the economy of the country, at a time, when Nigeria needs to block every leakage in the economy and project herself as the next destination for investments.”
Ekundayo said the Inspector-General of Police needs to look into the activities of his men especially in those areas.
He said, “We therefore recommend the following:
“The IGP should disband the Inspector General of Police Task Force on Anti Pipeline Vandalization, set up by the immediate past Inspector General of Police , Muhammed Abubakar
“The Nigeria Police Force boss should investigate the past and recent activities of the task force with a view to sanitize the future operation of such unit.
“We also appeal to the IGP to set up a team of dedicated and professional officers to work with our company and other contractors in the protection of pipelines especially in the western zone and particularly in Lagos and Ogun States.
“We also implore the IGP that when such a unit is setup, there should be a strict line of responsibility to regulate its activities.
“The IGP should also revisit the report of the committee that investigated the clash between policemen and operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Ketu area of the State about two years ago.”
