SLUG: JTF behind illegal bunkering,
pipeline vandalism – NUPENG, TUC
…JTF: It’s a
campaign of calumny, NUPENG officials involved
Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ihejirika |
The task force had
earlier come under scotching criticisms from NUPENG and TUC, which accused its
operatives of aiding and abetting illegal bunkering.
National President of NUPENG, Comrade Atete Igwe, and Rivers TUC
chairman, Hyginus Chika Onuegbu
JP, accused the officers and men of the JTF,
code-named ‘Operation Pulo Shield’ of providing cover for economic saboteurs,
insisting that those whose trucks are burnt by the task force are mere
scapegoats.
They tasked the
JTF to purge itself of corruption before carrying out the war against illegal
bunkering, stressing that most of the officers deployed to accomplish the task
are “beneficiaries and directly involved.
Orupere with $30,000, he alleged offered JTF Ops Officer |
But a furious Lt.
Colonel Onyeama Nwachukwu, Coordinator of the Joint Media Campaign Centre of the
JTF, told our reporter this morning that contrary to the claim, the unions’
members are neck-deep in the illegal activities.
He hinted that the
unions are sponsored by criminals and foreign partners, whose business have been
hit by the recent operations of the task force, describing the attack as
“campaign of calumny and mudslinging.”
MV Premier,, rogue vessel? |
He said the arrest
and destruction of over a dozen vessels with the capacity to carry 600,000
metric tons of crude oil each.
He said: “Those
involved (in illegal bunkering) are fighting back; they are the ones doing
mudslinging and engaging in campaign of calumny against the JTF. I am surprised
that our troops can be criticized in the face of putting their lives on line to
save the country from these criminals.”
The JTF image
maker, however, warned that no amount of intimidation and unwarranted attacks
would deter it from carrying out its mandate of crippling illegal bunkering
operations in the Niger Delta region.
Courtesy: Nation Evening Express, PH Edition
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