By Olatunbosun Obafemi
The Edo State Task Force on Recovery of Government Property has arrested six suspects in connection with the theft of 30 kilometers of pipeline from the Warri-Kaduna crude oil pipeline at Ekperi, in Etsako Central Local Government Area.
Chairman of the task force, Eugene Okolosie, revealed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists in Benin. He said the stolen pipelines were dug out with excavators and may have been removed with the collusion of local community members. Some of the stolen pipes have already been recovered by the task force.
“This criminal act has caused significant damage to national infrastructure,” Okolosie said. “We suspect community collaboration in the theft and are intensifying investigations.”
In a broader crackdown, the task force also arrested:
- Five suspects at Uhuoghun in Orhionmwon LGA for vandalizing government agricultural tractors and heavy-duty machinery for illegal sale.
- Five others at Okpella for stealing high-tension electrical components.
Okolosie raised concerns about the rising theft and encroachment on government lands across Edo State. He said the task force has recovered 480 hectares of illegally sold government land, much of it in reserved areas.
He cited Sobe, where government-planted melina and teak trees in a forest reserve were destroyed by residents who replaced them with plantain farms over an eight-year period.
In Ewomama Community, Okolosie disclosed that public assets such as a civic centre, generator house, market grounds, and a school were all sold off by locals, but the government has since reclaimed the properties.
He noted a disturbing trend of school land invasions, pointing out that in Uromi, a private school was built within the premises of a public one. “Anyone attacking education is attacking the future of the community,” he warned.
The task force chair thanked the state government for its support and cautioned the public against impersonators posing as task force members to extort money.
He reaffirmed the task force’s commitment to reclaiming public assets and bringing offenders to justice.
