26th January, 2016
Cyriacus Izuekwe
A 59-year-old landlady, Mrs Floyinka Ayinda has been arrested and detained at Idimu division for her alleged role in vandalising NNPC pipeline in Isheri Olofin area of Lagos State, western Nigeria.
Ayinda allegedly connected a pipe inside her water well to NNPC pipeline and has been siphoning petrol illegally for the past three years.
The incident happened at KML 1, LASU Road, Iyana Odo bus stop in Isheri Olofin, a suburb of Lagos.
The incident was discovered by officers of the Anti-Vandalism Intelligence Unit Team B set up by Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase. They acted on tip-off.
Ayinde allegedly admitted after her arrest that for the past three years, vandals has been operating in her house and she reported to the NNPC officials but they did not do anything about it.
She denied her involvement in the act and said she made a mistake for not informing the police because she relied on NNPC who asked her not to worry.
Ayinde revealed that the NNPC officials use to come with a team and she did not ask to know whether they were really officers or not.
When our reporter visited the scene, the house was deserted by the tenants.
Some jerrycans used for storing scooped petrol were all over the the premises before the task-force struck.
Armed officers of the task force were seen manning the house and its environs.
Efforts to speak with them proved futile. They directed our reporter to their boss, CSP Valentine Olumese in Abuja for comment.
At the time of filing this report, Ayinde was still detained at the station where she was writing her statement.
Source said, she might be flown to Abuja for further interrogation.