The senate yesterday said Nigeria has so far lost N2.3 trillion this year to oil theft and ordered an investigation into the alleged involvement of security forces, oil company employees and militia groups in crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
The lawmakers took a stand on the issue following a motion during plenary by the senator representing Delta North, Mr Ned Nwoko.
He said pipeline vandalism and oil bunkering are serious socio-economic crisis in the country.
The lawmaker alleged that personnel in the security agencies were in league with some employees in the oil industry to perpetrate oil theft.
“The current collaborative efforts involving the Joint Task Force of the Nigerian military, operations like Operation Delta Safe and Operation Dakartada Barawo, along with the contributions of various security entities, state and local governments, and international oil companies (IOCs) in the Niger Delta region have yielded positive results.
“These efforts have led to an increase in oil production, reaching 1.51 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2023.
“This figure marks an improvement from the 1.49 million barrels per day recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and is notably higher than the production volume of 1.34 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Despite the efforts of certain military personnel and security agencies like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and Department of State Services (DSS) in combating oil theft in the Niger Delta region, there are individuals within these institutions who engage in illicit activities.
“These individuals collaborate with unscrupulous figures within the oil industry to undermine the nation’s economy.
“It has come to attention that oil theft in Nigeria thrives due to a troubling collaboration between security forces, militia groups, the local population, and certain employees within oil companies,” he said.
Nwoko further said the oil theft comrades “employ sophisticated methods to carry out theft from oil facilities located within the country. Given Nigeria’s vast oil and gas reserves, one would expect crude oil production to continuously increase, aligning with OPEC’s production quota of 1.74 million barrels per day.”
Quoting statistics to back his claims, the lawmaker said: “In 2022, it was reported that Nigeria suffered daily losses of approximately 437,000 barrels of crude oil, amounting to a value of $23 million, due to criminal activities.
“In March 2023, Nigeria incurred a substantial loss of 65.7 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $83 per barrel, translating to a staggering revenue loss of N2.3 trillion as a result of oil theft,” he added.
He, therefore, prayed the senate do a no-holds-barred investigation into the activities of the oil thieves and their collaborators in the security forces.
In his contribution, Mr Buhari Abdulfatai (APC, Oyo) said the investigations carried out in the past yielded nothing and called for a review of the laws and the need to take punitive measures against oil thieves.
Similarly, Mr Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo) said oil theft is an organised crime involving the bunkers and the security operatives, adding that many security agents lobby their superiors to be posted to the oil producing communities.
In its resolution, the senate directed its committees on petroleum resources (upstream, downstream and gas), host communities and Niger Delta Affairs) to do a forensic investigation into the actions of security agencies, militia groups, the locals, oil company employees and any individual or entity suspected to be using sophisticated methods to siphon crude from oil facilities.
