17 individuals have been taken into custody by the Special Intelligence Squad of the Commandant General’s Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in connection with a recent attack on gas and oil sites in the Niger Delta.
Afolabi Babawale, the corps spokesperson, issued a statement on Monday announcing the arrest.
The statement claims that the operation, which occurred early on March 6, 2025, resulted in the capture of those suspected of stealing a speedboat from Tantita Security Services and killing Assistant Superintendent Umar Aliyu with Service number 6363.
Commandant Apollos Dandaura, Head of the Squad stated that the suspects in Bayelsa State’s Ekeremo Local Government Area were the focus of the coordinated operation, which was carried out in cooperation with other security services.
“Earlier in January 21st, 2025, there was an attack against the Joint Task Force combining operatives of the NSCDC and Tantita Security Services at their Base in Torugbene II unit at Ekeremo LGA in Bayelsa State by suspected vandals and Sea pirates who were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons.
“Upon arrival at the base, they shot sporadically at the officers and innocent civilians which led to the killing of ASC Umar Aliyu, his Ak 47 official Riffle was carted away, Ebikame Seimeneyefa of Tantita Security was shot and Tantita Speed Boat was also hijacked and stolen,” Dandaura was quoted saying.
After an intensive undercover investigation, the CG’s SIS team tracked down and apprehended the criminals, including the notorious leader Ziakede Amatu.
“We mounted a round-the-clock and relentless onslaught against the suspects in collaboration with sisters security agencies and the Tantita Security and succeeded in smashing the 17 deadly Sea pirates led by a notorious vandal, kidnapper and armed robber called Ziakede Amatu, who hails from Norgbene community in Ekeremo, Bayelsa State and has been terrorizing the community and all neighbouring states,” the statement added.
According to the statement, Amatu, who is originally from Bayelsa’s Norgbene community, has been terrorising the area and has even tried to infiltrate the Tantita Security Services in the past.
Amatu and his crew were implicated by authorities in several crimes, including attacks on oil infrastructure and illicit refining.
Subsequent analysis showed that Amatu’s organisation had orchestrated the assault on Tantita and NSCDC personnel as a component of a broader scheme to take over oil facilities and interfere with security activities.
According to reports, they aimed to damage Tantita Security Services’ image and impede the company’s advancements in protecting the area’s gas and oil pipelines.
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The suspects admitted to engaging in illicit refining operations in Abonima, Rivers State in 2023. They also acknowledged that they had stolen high-tech weapons and used them to defend their illicit activities.
After being advised by local elders to utilise the stolen guns for community defence, Amatu eventually pulled them out of the jungle where they had been stashed.
The organisation tried to deceive the public and law enforcement during their attacks by purchasing uniforms from Tantita Security Services in an effort to conceal their genuine motivations.
“Further confession revealed that the suspects embarked on this mischievous blackmail against the Tantita Security Chairman, Ekpemupolo Owiezide Government aka Tompolo since they could not infiltrate and get some Surveillance contracts sublet to them; hence the move to vandalise Oil and Gas Installations and this culminated to the attack on NSCDC and Tantita Operatives, leading to the killing of the late officer,” the statement revealed.
Among the suspects arrested were individuals identified as Aaron Ekogbene, Ebimene Adeseotu, Toukekenme Emmanuel Police, Ken David, Timiprey Ekogbene, and Isaac Pius, among others. During the operation, investigators recovered an AK-47 rifle, several empty magazines, and multiple Tantita Security uniforms, including boots and shirts.
The statement added that Dandaura commended the support of NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, for “enabling the Squad to carry out her responsibilities with necessary logistic support which has engendered its remarkable achievements in fighting crimes and criminalities, combating illegal bunkering activities in the Niger Delta, carrying out Investigative operations and dislodging criminal-minded persons from their hideouts.”
