The Senate has ordered a thorough investigation into the actions of security forces and organized groups using advanced techniques to steal crude oil within the country.
This decision was made after Senator Ned Nwoko of the Peoples Democratic Party, representing Delta North presented a motion during Tuesday’s plenary session. He highlighted the severe socio-economic crisis in Nigeria caused by pipeline vandalism and oil bunkering, supported by existing statistical data.
Senator Ned highlighted that oil theft has caused a significant revenue loss of N2.3 trillion for Nigeria this year.
He went on to state that some individuals within the security apparatus joined forces with unscrupulous elements in the oil industry to engage in this illicit activity. This collaboration undermines the collective efforts of the Joint Task Force, which comprises the Nigerian military and various security agencies, working to combat this issue.
Ned pointed out, “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 in the Niger Delta region have yielded positive results.
“These efforts have increased 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 and Department of State Services in combating oil theft in the Niger Delta region, there are individuals within these institutions who engage in illicit activities.”
Ned added, “These individuals collaborate with unscrupulous figures within the oil industry to undermine the nation’s economy.
“Also observes that 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.
“These parties employ sophisticated methods to carry out theft from oil facilities in 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.”
He further stated that there have been allegations and counter-allegations of oil bunkering and various other crimes involving the military and local militia groups.
