Ayekede confessed that due to his ridiculous price reduction, he had numerous customers including filling stations.
He however pleaded with the police to release him and the other four suspects, Oluwafemi Bamidele, James Awolowo, Eugene Stanley and Kunle Ogushe, in the spirit of Easter.
"We thought that on a day like Easter, security operatives would go and rest with their families. Please forgive us at least for the sake of Christ that rose from the dead because of you and me," he said.
The suspect who was formerly into sand dredging said poverty lured him into the illegal business.
He said, "I was engaged in sand dredging. Some years ago when my business was not moving well, my friend, Ebi, advised me to join him in pipeline
vandalism. Initially, I said no because I was a hardworking person, but when it dawned on me that this was the only source of living, I joined Ebi.
"We were using kegs but because of the level of the water, we introduced the use of sack which contains a larger quantity. The sack can contain as much as 125 litres of fuel or diesel. Normally we move about 270 bags per trip.
"When we get to the pipe, we will open it and use our own valve to block it immediately. You then run it through the hose to the water where the bags and my boys are waiting."
He boasted that selling of the stolen product was not a problem for him as customers are always on standby to buy them.
According to him, "Selling the product is not a problem. There are so many of them at Apapa. The main job is to collect the product and successfully cross the river especially through FESTAC canal. This is why we normally work at midnight."
The officer in charge of the Task Force, Friday Ibadin said that at about 12am, on Sunday they got an intelligence report that vandals were at Ijedodo, Ijegun in Iba Local Government Council Development area of Lagos.
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