A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has remanded 10 out of 18 suspects paraded by the state Police Command for alleged involvement in oil bunkering activities.
The 10 were arraigned on two-count charges of conspiracy and economic sabotage.
In a charge read out in court, Ali Abdullah and nine others were alleged to have conspired to defraud the Federal Government of revenue without lawful authority.
The suspects were alleged to have purchased or otherwise come into possession of an economic mineral, an offence said to be punishable under the Criminal Code and Miscellaneous Offences Act Law of Rivers State of Nigeria.
However, the suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court presided over by Chief Amadi Nna declined jurisdiction on the matter and ordered their remand at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre.
