Information obtained by SATURDAY THIS DAY revealed that the duo, Ibrahim Alhaji Abba, 33 years old, a driver attached to Wololo Investment Nigeria Limited, Maiduguri, Borno State, who lifts fuel from NIPCO Oil, Folawiyo, Coconut, Apapa, Lagos and Abdullahi Mohammed, 24 years old, also, a driver with Amuska Investment Nigeria Limited, Maiduguri, Borno State, hired out their tanker trucks at Ogere, Ogun State trailer park, without the consent of their respective managements.
One of the tanker trucks, it was learnt, has 40, 000 litre capacity and the other 60, 000 litre capacity.
The incident occurred sometime in September, 2014, but their arrest made on Friday, October 3, 2014.
An informed police source at Eleweran, Abeokuta, hinted that investigations so far, had revealed that the two drivers connived and hired out their tanker trucks at a sum of N700, 000 each to oil bunkerers operating along the creeks in Ogun State.
In the process of lifting stolen oil from NNPC pipelines, it is feared that the two trucks might have been gutted by fire, according to preliminary investigations.
In an encounter with our reporter, Ibrahim Alhaji-Abba admitted culpability to the crime and blamed his action on greed.
According to the indigene of Jen Local Government Area Council Area of Borno State, he was approached by a friend, one Danladi, a co-driver at Ogere, Ogun State trailer park to hire his 40, 000 litre capacity truck to him for a trip for a sum of N700, 000, but never returned with the truck.
“Danladi approached me to hire my tanker truck to him and that has been a tradition among us, drivers. Danladi told me, he wanted to use my truck to lift fuel from an undisclosed fuel depot in Ogere and we agreed to a sum of N700, 000 for a trip. We didn’t discuss when he would return the truck, but he said within five days.
“It was when I had waited endlessly and I couldn’t see Danladi to return the truck that I lied to our company’s agent in Lagos, one Alhaji Modu that the truck had been removed from Ogere trailer park by unknown persons when it was my turn to go to our fuel depot to lift oil at NIPC Oil, Folawiyo, Coconut, Apapa, lagos.
“Alhaji Modu, our Lagos agent had believed the lie, but when he discussed the matter, with one Alhaji Ado Ibrahim in Maiduguri, Borno State, the tone changed. Alhaji Ado advised that it was a lie that I told him.
“So, it was when the police waded in and I was arrested that I told detectives the truth over the missing truck. It was eight months ago I joined the company as a driver”, said Ibrahim.
Also, Abdullahi Mohammed owned up to the crime. He said he joined the firm a year and two months ago, and placed on a monthly salary of N80, 000, met one Yahaya also, a fuel tanker driver at Ogere, Ogun State trailer park, who approached him for the lease of his (Abdullahi) tanker truck to lift fuel from an undisclosed fuel depot within Ogun State axis at a sum of N700, 000. According to the 23-year-old driver, hiring out tanker trucks among fellow drivers at Ogere, Ogun state trailer park was a tradition, as the only source to augment their meagre monthly take-home. “Yahaya didn’t disclose the fuel depot he was taking my tanker truck to lift fuel, but he agreed to offer me a sum of N700, 000 immediately he returns from the trip. I had not collected any amount from him. To my utter dismay, I didn’t see Yahaya and I didn’t also, see my truck.
“Instead, to save me from getting into trouble with my bosses, I lied to our Lagos agent, one Alhaji Baba Lawal that a gang of armed robbers waylaid me along Ibadan/Ogere Expressway and snatched the tanker truck from me.
“It was from Maiduguri I took off with the tanker truck and traditionally, we usually stop at Ogere trailer park. It is when it is the turn of each driver that our respective agents in Lagos would call us to come with our fuel trucks to lift fuel that we would go”, said Abdullahi.
However, police sources at Eleweran, Abeokuta, hinted that most cases of reported missing tanker trucks were not lost to armed robbers, but their drivers have formed the habit of either hiring them out to oil bunkerers or engaged in lifting stolen petroleum products and they get burnt in the process at the scenes.
“They often got away in the past, with an excuse that armed robbers waylaid them along the expressways and snatched their tanker trucks when they reported to their managements.
The lie didn’t pay off this time around for the two suspects, as one Alhaji Ado Ibrahim, a close ally of the promoters of the two haulage firms, who waded in when called upon and asked us (detectives) to beam searchlight into the matter.
We have done our investigation and so far, we have found out that the missing two tanker trucks were not snatched by armed robbers from them, but they were hired out to lift stolen petroleum products from NNPC pipelines located within Ogun State. The two suspects have confessed hiring out the trucks, not snatched from them, as they had earlier claimed, but we are yet to recover the missing two tanker trucks”, hinted a police sergeant.
DSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, confirmed the arrest of the two suspects in connection with the missing two tanker trucks and said investigations had intensified to recover the trucks allegedly hired out to oil bunkerers.
Source: Thisday
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