Court jails 2 Pakistanis, 2 Ukrainians, 3 others for oil theft in Niger Delta

By Our Correspondent

Justice J.K Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has convicted and sentenced six foreigners and a Nigerian to seven years imprisonment for oil theft.

The foreigners are two Pakistanis: Mohammed Ejaz, Nasser Khan; two Ukranians: Oleksandr Nazarenko, Oleksandr Kashernvi; one Ghanaian: Romeo Annang, and one Indonesian: Fredrik Fatin Omenu.

Their Nigerian counterpart: David Otuohi bagged same jail term with them.

The convicts were first arraigned in November, 2017.

They convicted the foreigners after they were arrested for distributing, dealing in petroleum product without appropriate licence at Escravos in 2017.

Justice Omotosho in his judgement found the defendants guilty and sentenced them to seven years imprisonment with an option of fine of two million naira each.

The oil thieves ran into troubled waters when their ship was intercepted by the NNS DELTA on 25 April, 2017 at Shell Petroleum Development Company, Afremo Terminal, South East of Escravos in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, for illegal loading of petroleum products suspected to be crude oil.