By Thompson ABISOLA
Some oil marketers have called on the Federal Government to impose tougher penalties against petroleum pipeline vandals, saying the act affects the socio-economic growth of the nation.
Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Western zone chairman, Alhaji Debo Ahmed, , gave the advised on Wednesday in Lagos.
The spillage from a tanker siphoning petrol from a vandalised pipeline at Abule Egba, a suburb of Lagos, in the early hours of Wednesday, burst into flame, razing several houses and vehicles.
Ahmed said government should enact a law that would enforce live imprisonment for pipeline vandals.
He said some known vandals walk the streets freely two months after arrest, adding that such scenario was ridiculous.
He said such vandals would begin to threaten those that tipped off relevant authorities to effect their arrest.
“The security personnel securing the pipeline should be questioned or changed completely as it was alleged they also compromised,’’ he said.
He claimed that some “bad eggs’’ among the NNPC officials were collaborating with the vandals to siphon petroleum products.
“In the past, if Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, (PPMC) pumped 500,000 litres of water, all the water would get to destination without a drop siphoned.
“But, today, if PPMC pumps 500,000 litres of petroleum, it will be very hard to receive 50,000 litres out of it. About 450,000 litres would be siphoned by these vandals.
“How do they know the actual time they are pumping these products if not that there are saboteurs among officials of PPMC?’’ he said.
The IPMAN helmsman said if the government could impose tougher penalties against the vandals, they would desist from the act.
Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, the IPMAN Chairman, Ejigbo Satellite Depot, urged government to reshuffle the surveillance security personnel monitoring the pipelines as most of them had compromised.
Alanamu said government should pronounce immediate execution of any vandal caught siphoning products from the network, adding that this would serve as deterrent to others.
He urged the NNPC to protect petroleum pipeline network across the country with monitoring gadgets to track down vandals.
He said that the measure was necessary due to the increasing activities of vandals in the pipeline areas.
The IPMAN boss said if electronic gadgets were installed on the pipeline network in the area, it would alert security agents whenever the pipelines were being vandalised.
According to him, the size of the network and the inadequate security coverage give the hoodlums the opportunity to vandalise the pipelines.
“We appeal to NNPC and security agencies to redouble their efforts in protecting pipelines because residents within the locality can no longer sleep with their two eyes closed.
“We are imploring the government to help us to get rid of these people because their activities can cause a lot of damage to the entire community,” he said.
