The Federal High Court Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced nine young men to 10 years imprisonment, and ruled out option of fine.
Earlier this year men of the Nigerian Navy and the Department of State Services arrested 19 people following a tip off that they were stealing crude oil wellhead identified as ASABO-D in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
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Justice Joy Ikpeme, yesterday, found nine of them guilty on two count charges bordering on conspiracy and tampering of oil pipelines, and read that it contravened section 1(7) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act. She convicted them.
She slammed each of them with 5 years imprisonment on the first count, and 10 years for count two, while giving order for the jail terms to run concurrently. What this means is that each of the nine men would serve maximum jail term of full 10 years.
A security source hailed the judgement as a “milestone” in Navy’s campaign to stop those who are sabotaging Nigeria and damaging communities where oil are located.
The source said: “The conviction marks another milestone in the Navy’s sustained campaign against crude oil theft and illegal bunkering activities along Nigeria’s maritime and riverine areas, which have continued to drain the nation’s oil revenue and damage the environment in host communities.”