The Edo State Task Force on Recovery of Government Property has confirmed the arrest of six individuals involved in the large-scale vandalism of the Warri-Kaduna crude oil pipeline in Ekperi, Etsako Central Local Government Area.
Chairman of the task force, Mr. Eugene Okolosie, disclosed this during a media briefing on Wednesday in Benin City, revealing that the suspects colluded with some community members to steal approximately 30 kilometers of crude oil pipes using excavators.
Okolosie said some portions of the stolen pipes have been successfully recovered by the authorities.
In a related development, five additional suspects were arrested in Uhuoghun, Orhionmwon Local Government Area, for vandalising government-owned agricultural tractors and heavy equipment intended for sale.
Likewise, five individuals were apprehended in Okpella for stealing high-tension electricity components.
Okolosie expressed deep concern over the rampant theft and encroachment on government property across the state.
According to him, the task force has so far recovered 480 hectares of government land that were illegally sold, including forest reserves in Sobe, which had been cleared for personal plantations over the past eight years.
“In Sobe, government-planted Melina and teak trees in reserved forests were destroyed by locals who converted the area into plantain plantations,” Okolosie noted.
He also drew attention to the widespread illegal sale of public lands in several communities, particularly in Ewomama, where essential public infrastructures including the civic center, school premises, and market lands were sold off before it was recovered by the state.
According to Okolosie, is the encroachment on educational facilities. “There is hardly any school in Edo that has not been invaded,” he lamented, citing a case in Uromi where a private school was built within the premises of a public institution.
“Anyone who attacks education is attacking the future of his community,” he warned.
He commended the Edo State Government for its unwavering support of the task force and issued a public warning against fraudsters impersonating task force members to extort money from unsuspecting citizens.
The crackdown is part of a broader initiative to safeguard critical infrastructure and reclaim public assets across Edo State.
