Osinbajo says pipeline vandals are like terrorists

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the pipeline vandals in the Niger Delta can be likened to terrorists.

Osinbajo further said that the vandals should be treated treated like the terrorists, hence, sshould be severely dealt with and not tolerated.


Speaking in Warri after visiting the strategic gas pipeline at Forcados export terminal in Burutu council area of Delta State, Osinbajo, advocated that citizens must back President Buhari’s resolve to decisively deal with pipelines vandals noting that the January 14, 2016, sabotage on the pipeline at Forcados has resulted to the unprecedented power cuts in the country.

In his words, “As you know, pipelines vandals are probably as bad as any type of terrorists or saboteurs and the danger posed to lives caused by pipelines vandals. All of us must agree with the president that the vandals must be treated with the most severe manner and should not be tolerated at all.

'So, I agree entirely that pipelines vandals should not be tolerated under no circumstances.

'Aside from the gas problem, there is also the problem of losing thousands of barrels of production. We are not able to produce as much as we ought to. About 250,000 barrels are lost per day. We are losing large sums of money daily. We look for alternative, while we look to repair the pipelines.

'We would have to deploy even sophisticated weapons to ensure we contain the vandalism, overhaul security and permanent pipeline security force might also be an option to look at.

'The damage done has led to low supply of gas and most of the power plants are not functioning at maximum capacity,” Osinbajo said.