The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has convicted and sentenced nine of 19 persons arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for crude oil theft.
Delivering judgment on Monday, the presiding judge, Justice Joy Ikpeme, found the nine convicts guilty on a two-count charge of conspiracy and tampering with an oil pipeline, contrary to Section 1(7) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
Justice Ikpeme sentenced each of the convicts to five years’ imprisonment on count one and 10 years on count two, without an option of fine.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The convicts, alongside 10 other suspects, were arrested earlier in the year following an intelligence-led operation by the Nigerian Navy and the DSS.
They were caught stealing crude oil from an oil wellhead identified as ASABO-D in Ibeno Local Government Area of the state.
”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,’ a security source declared.