The Lagos State government, on Friday, August 12, 2016, uncovered 12 houses with illegal oil wells in Abeokuta Ibadan Street in Ilasamaja area of the state.
Reports say owners of the houses built shallow wells to steal diesel from pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
As contained in a statement issued by the state’s commissioner for information and strategy, Steve Ayorinde, the oil wells were built purposely for illegally scooping of diesel, adding that some of the affected landlords built pumping machine and boreholes to perpetrate the crime on a large scale.
Ayorinde said a combined team from the State Police Command, the Ministry of Environment, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Lagos State Fire Service and Sole Administrator of Isolo Local Council Development Area carried out a thorough inspection of the entire area and discovered nothing less than 12 of the illegal oil wells.
Confirming the incident, the commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said three suspects have been arrested.
“the men of the Lagos State Police Command in the area who were on routine patrol said they saw a woman around 12 midnight with keg of diesel and when an attempt was made for her to be accosted, she fled, a development which alerted the police of something fishy,” Owoseni said.
“The police immediately pursued the woman and accosted her, after which she eventually took them to number 12, Abeokuta Street, off Ilasamaja, one of the houses housing the illegal oil wells.”
The commissioner added that upon getting to the said house, those inside shut the door and prevented the police from gaining entrance.
“The officers thereafter left the scene with the arrested woman, and they later came back disguising as potential buyers of diesel, while those inside opened the door.
“It was at that point that the illegal oil well was discovered at the house, after which about 10 more wells were discovered in other houses in Abeokuta and Ibadan streets.
“At the last count there, we have seen about 12 houses that had wells dug behind the house and the only thing that they scoop out of the wells is diesel but not water.
“It is believed that almost all the houses within that vicinity had this same thing.
“We have arrested some of the landlords and we have also asked the tenants whether they have the knowledge that they were compromising their lives and property?” Owoseni said.
Ilasamaja community is a densely populated area in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State.
