3 Pipeline Vandals Jailed For 11 Years
Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo of the Federal High Court in Lagos Thurday convicted and sentenced three pipeline vandals to 11 years imprisonment for stealing 33, 000 litres of Petroleum products from a pipeline of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The court jailed the convicts, Yaya Musa, Sephiani Sani and Oluwole Atobatele after finding them guilty of the three count charges of conspiracy, pipeline vandalism and stealing brought against them by the federal government.
The government had accused the convicts of committing the crimes on December 19, 2010, at about 01.20 a.m., at Ogere area of Ogun State.
They were also said to have unlawfully damaged the said Petroleum pipeline, and stolen 33, 000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, valued N2.145 million.
The prosecutor, Justine Enang, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) from the department of Anti-Pipeline Vandalization and Illegal Bunkering, Lagos, told the court that the offences are contrary to and punishable under sections 516, 7(a) of the Criminal Code Act Cap C38 and 390 of the Miscellaneous Offences, Cap. M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
They were first arraigned before the court sometimes in 2011, and they pleaded not guilty to all the charges, a development that made the court to grant them bail on various terms.
However, the bail terms was revoked in 2014, when one of them was said to have jumped bail. They were later re-arraigned in 2015.
During the trial, the prosecutor called three witnesses, who narrated in detail, the roles played by each of them and how the convicts were arrested.
But the convicts did not call any witness.
Delivering judgment in the case, Justice Oguntoyinbo, held that the prosecution has been able to prove it’s case beyond reasonable doubt against all the convicts.
Consequently, she sentenced the convicts to four years, five years and two years on count one, two and three respectively.
