A commercial driver, Jide Falayo, who was arrested by the police in Lagos State, has said he was paid N3,000 daily to transport fuel from vandalised pipelines for distribution.
Falayo added that he conveyed the products from Ijedodo and Ijegun to the Isolo area of the state.
Falayo said this while being paraded alongside 11 other suspects.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspected vandals, who included a married woman, were arrested by the Inspector-General of Police Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism in the Ijegun area of Lagos last Friday while acting on a tip-off.
It was gathered that the suspects allegedly sneaked into the area on the fateful day with two tankers and a Nissan bus to vandalise pipelines.
According to the police, the suspects were loading the fuel into the vehicles when they were caught and taken to the Ikotun Police Division for preliminary interrogation.
Our correspondent learnt that a total of 42,800 litres of petrol were recovered from the suspects while the vehicles were also seized.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Falayo, who drove the Nissan bus, said his role was to transport the loaded kegs to customers in the Isolo area, adding that he was paid N3,000 on a daily basis by a vandal, who he identified only as Baba Ope.
Falayo added that he drove the stolen fuel for about two months because he could not secure a better job.
He said, “I was invited by Baba Ope in September 2015. He is my boss, and he also owns the Nissan bus. My work is to drive the bus anytime they load it with kegs of petrol. I usually convey the fuel to Isolo. I wanted to deliver the goods to the customers when I was arrested.
“I do not know what the customers do with the fuel. I was arrested with 28 containers and each one carries about 1,000 litres. Baba Ope had assured me that there was no way I would be arrested since he had a good relationship with the police.
“I was surprised when I was arrested. When the policemen arrested me, they asked me to take them to my boss’ house but unfortunately, we did not meet him at home. The police are still looking for him.”
Another suspect, Azeez Suleiman, said he was forced into vandalism by armed vandals who threatened to kill him if he did not cooperate with them.
He said, “I am a truck driver and I was invited by one of my friends who normally looked for jobs for me to take my truck to Ijegun for loading. I did not know it was a vandals’ base. When I got there, I saw the vandals and my friend lied that they were security men patrolling the area. After parking my truck, I saw a boat loaded with containers of fuel. Minutes later, they started to load the containers into my truck.
“When I saw this, I protested and wanted to go back, but the vandals beat me up, and threatened to kill me if I resisted. That was how I conveyed their fuel. My friend was helpless. I was beaten to the point where I had no option but to agree with them. It was while I was about leaving the area that the police arrested us. The vandals had fled.”
The Commander of the Task Force, CSP Valentine Olumhense, confirmed the arrests. He said the recovered petrol would be returned to the appropriate authorities, while those arrested would also be prosecuted.
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