By Sunday Attah.
As part of it’s mandate to protect critical national infrastructure, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps said it has uncovered and destroyed over 100 illegal refineries within the last two years.
The Commandant General of the Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, mni, OFR made this known during a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority on Wednesday.
According to him, since his assumption into office, the NSCDC has apprehended over two hundred suspects in cases connected to oil bunkering out of which one hundred have been prosecuted.
He said, the Civil Defense Corps no doubt, has carved a nitch for it self in the area pipeline vandalism within the last two years.
Audi who spoke in high spirits assured the NMDPRA of their continues cooperation with the view to achieve good and better results.
He added that efforts have been intensified to provide maximum security on such facilities across the country.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of Cooperate Services and Administration of Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Mallam Bashir Sadiq, applauded the leadership of the NSCDC for living up to expectations in safeguarding critical national infrastructures under which petroleum facilities are included.
He said, the Authority has enjoyed tremendous support from the corps and hope the visit will further strengthen the bond between the two sister government agencies.
He charged the Corps not to relent in the discharge of it’s duties as stipulated in the law so as to further secure the economy of the nation by preventing oil theft which cripples the economy.