In response to President Bola Tinubu's directive to "crush" oil thieves, well-informed stakeholders from the Niger Delta have offered their perspective. They urge the President to approach the issue with caution, thoroughly analyze the underlying problems, and make informed decisions instead of hastily issuing orders.
In response to President Bola Tinubu's directive to "crush" oil thieves, well-informed stakeholders from the Niger Delta have offered their perspective. They urge the President to approach the issue with caution, thoroughly analyze the underlying problems, and make informed decisions instead of hastily issuing orders.
The stakeholders assert that if President Tinubu genuinely intends to address oil theft, he must be willing to confront powerful individuals. They advise him to identify, expose, and penalize high-ranking military officers (both serving and retired) from various branches such as the Army, Police, Airforce, DSS, Navy, as well as officials from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), International Oil Companies (IOCs), and politicians involved in crude oil theft.
After taking action against the corrupt elements, the stakeholders recommend restructuring the security architecture. They also hint at the possible collusion between some high-ranking government officials in Tinubu's administration and the oil cabal during previous administrations.
The stakeholders highlight the use of technology by oil thieves and stress the importance of leveraging technology to prevent oil theft, rather than merely repairing pipelines after breaches occur.
Chief Nengi James, the 2nd National Vice President of the Ijaw National Congress and well-versed in the matter, emphasizes that crude oil theft is an organized crime involving elements within the military and political circles. He points out that the scale of this crime surpasses that of petroleum subsidy fraud. Crude oil is loaded onto ships and vessels, which freely leave Nigerian territory to neighboring countries for refining before being brought back into the country.
According to Nengi, local refineries are used as a cover-up, but their capacity pales in comparison to the volume of crude loaded on vessels and siphoned off. He clarifies that community members are not involved in this organized crime but are only engaged in surveillance efforts.
Nengi further asserts that the major players in this crime are the owners of vessels and military chiefs in the Ministry of Defence, Navy, and Army. He questions the effectiveness of operations like Operation Pulo Shield, Operation Delta Safe, and Joint Task Force (JTF), suggesting that they are primarily intended to create a false impression of action being taken. Nengi raises concerns about the military's continued presence in the Niger Delta and questions why they are more interested in staying there than in combating terrorism.
He emphasizes that the real criminal activities occur in the high seas, prompting oil companies to divest and move offshore where they can load oil without monitoring. Security personnel stationed there are primarily focused on collecting bribes rather than monitoring or securing the area.
Nengi calls for a thorough investigation and scrutiny of all military personnel in the Niger Delta, urging authorities to question the source of their rapidly accumulating properties. He highlights the alarming trend of junior officers sharing illicit gains with their superiors, indicating a lack of discipline and widespread corruption. Proper monitoring of security personnel would likely result in the recovery of unlawfully acquired assets.
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By Adegboro Damilola.
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