The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) arrested three women for damaging oil pipelines, stealing oil, and dealing illegally in petroleum products in Omuma Local Government Area, Rivers State.

On Sunday, July 14, 2024, DC Apollo Dandaura of the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad reported the arrests. Acting on sustained intelligence, the squad found an illegal oil refinery at the scene with a large quantity of suspected Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).

“We acted on reliable intelligence and arrested three women with large quantities of illegally refined AGO stored in metal drums and plastic bags,” Dandaura stated in a press release by CSC Babawale Afolabi, the Public Relations Officer at NSCDC’s headquarters in Abuja.

The arrested women are: Happiness Nwankwo, 45, from Omuma; Nnoma Nwankwo, 30, also from Rivers State; and Favour Amadi from Omuma, Rivers State.

Recovered items at the scene include drum ovens with stolen crude oil, industrial hoses for siphoning oil, large quantities of stolen oil in bags and kegs, metal and plastic buckets, wheelbarrows, shovels, and metal pipes.

Dandaura mentioned that an investigation is underway to determine the suspects’ involvement and identify their sponsors. He assured that those found guilty will face court action.