The Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday, August 13, 2026, arraigned two additional suspected members of a syndicate that specializes in stealing crude oil in Akwa-Ibom State.
The two suspects, Arepade Dominic Ekprese and Benson Ekiokekeme Innocent were docked at the Magistrate Court sitting at Fulga Road, Uyo.
The arraignment brings to 19 the number of suspects being prosecuted for crude oil theft in the state.
The Magistrate Court however, declined jurisdiction on the matter, stressing that only the Federal High Court could handle the matter.
The Magistrate Court therefore remanded the suspects at Uyo Medium Correctional facility for an initial period of 21 days.
A security source disclosed that on April 9, 2026, an intelligence-driven operation led by Joint Task Force – South South, Operation Delta Safe (JTF-SS OPDS), busted the syndicate, adding that 26 crew members and two motorised tankers, namely MT WESTAF and MT MKPODU were apprehended.
The source further said that the vessels were arrested while siphoning crude oil from a platform operated by a major oil company operating on the shores of the state.
Seventeen of the suspects and the two vessels were earlier arraigned before a Federal High Court, Uyo and were remanded at the Medium Security Correctional Centre, Uyo, pending resumption of the matter in September.
The source also disclosed that the ongoing intelligence-driven anti-crude oil theft operations across the Niger Delta region are part of the Federal Government’s resolve to shore up the nation’s daily crude oil production, which will in turn increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
