A Benin High Court has remanded four individuals in police custody in connection with alleged illegal oil bunkering activities. Presiding Judge Justice Williams Azeigbemhin made the ruling on Monday, citing the need for the matter to be heard in a Federal High Court.
Justice Azeigbemhin stated that a Federal High Court possesses the appropriate jurisdiction to adjudicate the case.
The defendants, Ayemoba John, Orji Kalu, Isaac Ikpedide, and Haruna Safi, appeared before the court but did not enter pleas.
Prosecutor Polycap Odion informed the court that the four defendants face charges including conspiracy, illegal crude bunkering, theft, illegal possession of a firearm, and tampering with oil pipelines.
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Odion alleged that the defendants, along with others currently at large, committed the offenses on March 22nd at Epeko Community Forest in the Etsako Central Local Government Area. He stated that the group allegedly tampered with an oil pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“The defendants unlawfully carried out illegal crude oil bunkering activities from the NNPC Pipeline,” Odion asserted.
He further explained that the alleged offences contravene Section 412 (1) of the Criminal Law of Edo State, 2022, and Section 7 (a) (b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The prosecutor urged the court to remand the defendants in a correctional centre pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) regarding the case.
Judge Azeigbemhin granted the prosecution’s request, ordering the defendants to remain in police custody until further notice and the transfer of the case to the Federal High Court. The date for the next hearing has not yet been set. The case highlights ongoing efforts to combat illegal oil activities in the region.
