Operators Of Illegal Refineries Adopt New Tricks To Ward Off Security Agents In Bayelsa

To deceive security agents and escape arrests, operators of illegal refineries in Bayelsa State now use children and women as shields at their camps, according to the state governor, Senator Douye Diri.

The governor who expressed concern over the new trend told first class traditional rulers in the state and local government chairmen that the situation was discovered by security operatives on reconnaissance operations and called on the royal fathers to educate their subjects on the dangers of the illegal business to human health and the environment.

He said: “The report I received recently is that at illegal bunkering sites, they now have children and women, which is a dimension I have never heard before.

“Sometimes, when the military are authorised to destroy those camps and they get there on reconnaissance, they discover that children and women are used to shield those places. So, we all have to work together in our domains to educate our people.

“There was a situation where the military moved in and discovered that children and women were there and had to withdraw.” He urged the monarchs and council chairmen to take steps to curb the menace  which he said occurred in Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor, Brass and Nembe council areas.

He also charged the monarchs to report to him oil bunkering sites in their domains, stressing that the ugly trend could be addressed through collaborative efforts.