Truck laden with adultrated diesel impounded in Benin

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Operatives of Edo State Petroleum and Pipeline Monitoring Committee, over the weekend intercepted and impounded a Mecedes Benz truck loaded with at least 10,000 litres of petroleum product suspected to be adulterated diesel.

The 15,000 litre-capacity truck with registration number AA 663 XB, was intercepted along Akpakpava Road, by Dawson Road junction, in Benin.

Following inability to give satisfactory response to interrogation by officials of the petroleumand pileline monitoring agency, the driver and other occupants of the truck were said to have bolted.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Benin over the issue, the Director of Operations of the committee, Nosa Idele-Ogbeide, said the fleeing suspects had claimed that they lifted the product from a depot belonging to a private oil and gas company and also produced a waybill to back their claim.

He however faulted the suspects’ claims,describing the situation as a case of suspected ‎pipeline vandalism.

“The waybill, as you can see is from MRS; MRS is an oil company. But when they (suspects) saw that we [were] keen on knowing how they got the product, they absconded.

“The product was not from any depot; ‎the product came from somewhere. We are still investigating. But we suspected it was from a pipeline because is the standard of the ‎density of the product is not up to the standard. We are still investigating,” Idele-Ogbeide said.

The management of MRS Oil Nigeria PLC has however dismissed the claimed that it issued the waybill from the confiscated product.

The Benin Depot Distribution Supervisor of the company, Chimezie Adiele, told journalists that both the documents and the truck did not belong to the company.

Adiele said, “This is not MRS Oil Nigeria PLC document. The truck is not MRS Nigeria PLC truck. Our trucks are branded.

“And even here, in Benin, we do not have a 15,000 capacity truck. But ‎we would like to know the owner of this truck; this is not an issue for MRS Nigeria PLC.”

Also speaking on the issue, the Executive D‎irector to the State Anti-Vandalism Committee, Iko Daniel, said the interception of illegal petroleum products was part of efforts by the state government to rid the state of pipeline vandals and the circulation of adulterated products.

He further disclosed that the anti-vandalism unit had so far destroyed 18 illegal refineries in the state in collaboration with the 4 Mechanised Brigade Command.

“The State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has declared zero tolerance in the Edo State, as far as vandalism is concerned. Both those who donate trucks for this illegal act and those who engage in the act can be rest assured that they will continue to count losses‎,” he said.