The state commandant of NSCDC, Yerima Gana, while briefing journalists, said the hoodlums could not be arrested as they fled on sighting his men during the raid.

A visit to the scene shows how pipes were inserted into the damaged pipeline and being fed into the jerry cans while the state commandant appealed to residents close to where pipelines are located to always report any suspicious movement to relevant security agencies.

Mr Gana informed that his men while in surveillance and patrolling Oshin community in Ilorin west local government area discovered gully erosion where vandals used to siphon crude oil from oil pipelines.

The discovery around 12midnight he added led to the impounding of two vehicles loaded with 200 fully loaded 30 litres jerry cans ready for transportation to an unknown location.

While the 18 seater Toyota Hiace bus with registration number XL 607 BDG Lagos was filled with the jerry cans, the Mercedes Benz car also contained the equipment used in carrying out the nefarious act.