20 foreigners arrested for illegal oil bunkering in Nigeria

A total of 20 foreigners have been arrested for illegal oil bunkering in Rivers State located in Nigeria's southeastern region, military authorities said Friday. State commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Brig.-Gen. Tukur Buratai told reporters in Port Harcourt, capital of the oil-rich state, that the foreigners are citizens of Ghana, a neighboring west African country. "The 20 Ghanaians were arrested together with six Nigerians and they are now cooling their heels in custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), awaiting prosecution," he said. According to the top military officer, the task force has also destroyed seven barges loaded with crude oil which were impounded in September at the Akuku-Toru local government area of Rivers State. He wondered why citizens of a neighboring African country would engage in such illegal act in Nigeria, while declining to disclose the actual quantity of the crude oil impounded by the military. Buratail said the military had cordoned off the area in a bid to deal squarely with the oil thieves operating in the creeks.