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EX- NNPC staff rearrested for pipeline vandalism

By on June 17, 2013

A former staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Bashiru Majiyagbe, who was jailed for five years for his alleged involvement in pipeline vandalization, has been arrested again.

Majiyagbe was rearrested few weeks after he finished serving his sentence by operatives of the Inspector General of police (IGP) Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Unit at Odi Ifediwo area of Ogun state.

He was caught vandalising another NNPC pipeline in the area.

The suspect told The Nation that he was a security staff with NNPC before his first arrest.

He said, “I was employed by NNPC to guard the pipeline in 2002. My records are there that my line was always protected because I never allowed vandals to go near the area where I am guarding. They (vandals) have approached me severally with thousands of naira but I refused because I wanted a clean record and hoped that I would be promoted.

“But along the line, I discovered that NNPC officials are ingrate. They are in their offices wearing tie, while I was left in the bush to protect pipeline and I was paid stipends. We complained severally and were told that the contractor who employed us on behalf of NNPC is the one that should be held responsible.

“I decided to help myself survive out there in the bush. Whenever they wanted to operate, I will pretend as if I never knew that they were there unless NNPC officials at the technical room discovered a drop and raised an alarm that vandals were in my area.

It was then that I started enjoying the dividend of the job because all these while I had risked my life for nothing. Those vandals can be deadly, if you do not allow them to work. This explains why most of our security men prefer to allow them to function with impunity. Those days, I was dreaded because I used all within my reach to protect the pipeline. “

(The Nation)