The Nigerian Navy has arrested and paraded some men who work for the Tompolo-led Tantita Security Service as crude oil thieves.

According to the Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga, the men were arrested while attacking a local from whom they tried stealing a boat engine. 

He said: 

“In a swift response to a distress call, the Nigerian Navy stationed at FOB Lekki foiled an attempted oil theft operation on the waterways near Itolu community, Lekki, in Lagos State. 

“The incident occurred in the early hours of August 29, 2023, when local youths reported gunshots in the vicinity of the community. 

“Reviewing the information, naval patrol teams immediately launched a response operation. Upon arrival at the scene, the naval team met four individuals dressed in black polo shirts with Tanitita inscribed on the back, trying to recover a dismantled outboard engine from a local. 

“The team recovered the engine and apprehended the four Tantita employees. 

“It was after this arrest that the patrol team realized that the four individuals were part of a movement of a large wooden boat with two fiber boats.” 

Meanwhile, Tantita’s Ondo State Coordinator, Idowu Asonja, defended the arrested staff, saying that they were only after the real culprits who owned the wooden boat laden with crude products.

He also accused the Navy of complicity in the case.