The Nigerian Navy has arrested in the past five weeks, 117 suspects and six vessels for alleged theft of petroleum products. In the lot, a ship of 548,000 L of oil was apprehended off the coast of Benin.

The Chief of Staff of the Navy (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo said the Nigerian Navy had arrested 117 suspects and seized six ships for alleged theft of petroleum products. According to him, a quick historical trail revealed that the ship was in the creeks for weeks. " As a result, a navy ship was guided and the MV Tokoni was intercepted about 100 nautical miles to the south, off the coast of the Republic of Benin. It was observed that the ship was loaded with 548,000 liters of stolen crude oil," he said.

In fact, one of the arrested vessels was identified as the MV TOKONI, which was spotted through the Navy's Falcon Eye facility on May 2 while sailing off Escravos with its automatic identification system (AIA) deactivated é. The ship and crew were then arrested and escorted to the port of Lagos for further investigation and prosecution. Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo was speaking at the 10th SECUREX West Africa, an international security exhibition held at the Landmark Centre on Victoria Island, Lagos, where he delivered a keynote address entitled "Protecting Critical National Infrastructure: Tackling Maritime Crimes; Protecting Nigeria's ports."