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 authorities to this site so that they can come and see what can be done.

“But in the meantime, our men would be deployed so that we can stop people from accessing the area because it is even dangerous to the people involved in this because a little fire will kill everyone conducting this dastardly act.

“It is also not good for the system. See how the whole place has been dug out. It is also very dangerous for people who are not even aware of this because they can come blindly at night and fall inside this pit and that is the end.

“We would do the needful; we would not get tired until we rid this area of these criminals.”

He further said some suspects arrested at the scene were still in the custody of the army as investigation continues.

“Few people have been arrested, they are in our custody, we hope they will give us useful information that would lead to the arrest of others that are involved in this act.”

Answering questions from newsmen, one of the suspects confessed to the crime, saying the wells belonged to different families in the community.

He revealed that sometimes diggers die in the process of digging the wells when they inhale the smell of the gas, saying they were usually paid about N40, 000 to excavate a well of about 15 feet.

The suspects, whose name was not revealed as of the time of filing this report, stated, “It is owned by the community and not by one person.

“To get oil, sometimes if the place is like here, we dig like 10 to 15 feet. When we dig it and notice that the gas is rising, if you do not run out on time people might suffocate and we bring them out half-dead, but the unlucky ones die.

“When we bring them out, we pour water on them and give them coke. After the gas the oil will come out and another set will come to fetch it after we have finished digging it.”