By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
Recently, the Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Abubakar Audi summoned Commandants and Heads of Anti-Vandal Units across the country to the nation’s capital to jaw jaw on how to address oil theft in the country.
During the strategic security meeting, the CG gave Nigerians hope that the agency will stop oil theft across the country.
He tasked the officers to check excesses and inappropriate behaviours of officers so as to address oil theft and bunkering.
“Some believe that security agencies are part of oil theft in the country, but we must do what is necessary to redeem our image.
“I want to make it clear that anyone involved will not be spared. We will apply all the rules necessary for sanctions of all recalcitrant elements.
“The corps will use its hammer on any personnel involved in compromise of oil theft regardless of his position.
“There will be severe punishment for anyone found wanting.
“If you join the corps to make money by cooperating with oil thieves, we urge you to resign.
“The Minister has directed that anyone caught sabotaging the image of government will be severely sanctioned.
“Some of the anti vandals units have been found wanting. We want you to reposition the units for better performance.
“I warn that the corps has no place for mediocrity and incompetence. Redouble your efforts and reposition the sectors for better performance.”
To add to the determination to end the menace of crude oil theft, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola commissioned 8 NSCDC gunboats to wage a full scale war against the perpetrators of this heinous crime.
The minister said the move became necessary to strengthen the combative capacity of NSCDC Anti Vandalism Squad in stemming the tide of huge revenue loss to the Federal Government in the oil sector.
Performing the official commissioning of the gunboats in Portharcourt, Rivers State, the Minister of Interior, described the incidences of oil theft as an organized crime ridding the nation of accrued revenue running to million of dollars annually.
Aregbesola said the country in recent past had recorded various occurrences of crude oil theft and reports has shown that the country loses million of dollars daily such that, “of the 141 million barrels of oil produced in the 1st quarter of year 2022, only 132 million barrels of oil were received at export terminals; the aftermath results further reveal that over 9 million barrels of oil was lost to crude oil theft.”
The Minister decried the negative impacts of crude oil theft and oil pipeline vandalism in the nation.
He called on all Security Agencies to shun Inter-agency rivalries and synergize by supporting the fight against oil theft in order to salvage and rid the nation’s economy of saboteurs.
The Minister further maintained that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps as the lead agency in safeguarding Critical National Assets and Infrastructure is mandated to use the available logistics provided by the Government to reduce crime rate and by extension take the war against crude oil theft to the camp of the enemies.
This new strategy will also address the fears raised by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Tuesday, that stolen crude oil products are now stored in places of worship such as churches and mosques.
This was as he lamented that the phenomenon had become widespread, permeating several aspects of society.
Kyari disclosed this when he appeared at the 49th Session of the State House Briefing Organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the NNPC operatives discovered that stolen petroleum products are stored in places of worship with the consent of the clergy, members, and neighbours.
He revealed that at least 295 illegal connections were spotted on a 200km stretch of pipeline in one instance.
“As you may be aware, because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the way to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country, none of them can take delivery of products today.
“The reason is very simple. For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven’t operated for 15 years. Every molecule of product that we put gets lost. Do you remember the sad fire incident close to Sapele that killed so many people? We had to shut it down, and as we speak, we have a high level of losses on our product pipeline.
“You remember in Lagos when a fire outbreak happened on one of our pipelines? We discovered that some of the pipelines were actually connected to individuals’ homes. And not only that, with all sensitivity to our religious beliefs, some of the pipelines and some of the products that we found are in churches and mosques,” Kyari said.
Such spate of vandalism, he said, has prompted the NNPC to shut down its entire network of pipelines conveying petroleum products nationwide.
“When we say we are losing several 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily, we mean it. This is opportunity loss. There is no company that will produce oil and then you lose 80 percent of that and continue to produce the oil.”
But Audi, affirmed that the 8 newly commissioned gunboats and others strategies in place will boost the morale of the Corps in combating the menace of Crude Oil theft along the waterways.
“The NSCDC is generally expected to effectively safeguard Critical Infrastructure and oil installations which are very central and vital to the socio-economic development of the nation.
“The Corps is saddled with the mandate to guard against oil theft, illegal oil bunkering through the provision of physical security to oil pipelines against vandalism.
“Therefore, any threat to the oil and gas sector is automatically considered as a high security concern owing to the debilitating effects it has on national development.
“It also constitute environmental degradation, pollution, destruction of land and aquatic life, loss of means of livehood and drastic reduction in the inflow of foreign exchange needed to bolster the economy of the nation”, the CG said.
He affirmed that a marching order has been issued to all Zonal Commanders, State Commandants and Heads of Antivandal Unit across formations to be battle ready with a renewed vigour to stamp out oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the nation.
He reiterated the Corps’ determination and unwavering commitment to the war against illegal oil bunkering and assured the Government and the entire nation that the Gunboats would be distributed to States in the coastal region as the Corps continue to collaborate with the Military and other Security Agencies.
Judging by all these, many at the court of public opinion believe that the corps is well positioned to deny the criminals an opportunity to freely operate in the region.
