THE Defence Headquarters says troops of the Nigerian Army have uncovered and deactivated 63 illegal refining sites, recovered stolen products and apprehended 182 suspected oil thieves in two weeks.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, a major general, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the operations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria across the country on Thursday, October 26, in Abuja.
Baba noted that the troops killed 73 terrorists, arrested 182, and rescued 68 hostages.
According to him, the troops identified and destroyed 63 illegal refining sites containing 15 dugout pits, 45 boats, 87 storage tanks, 128 cooking ovens, one pumping machine, four outboard engines and arrested 14 suspected oil thieves.
He added that the troops recovered 962,500 litres of stolen crude oil, 35,420 litres of illegally refined AGO, 38,450 litres of DPK, and 45,000 litres of PMS with an estimated value of N1, 212,046,140.
Other arms recovered were 119 assorted weapons and 1,537 assorted ammunitions.
Buba reassured Nigerians of the military’s sustained efforts to subdue terrorists’ activities.
He said, “The ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations have prevented these evil elements from accomplishing their strategic objectives. The military will continue to degrade their ability to carry out small-scale attacks intended to create panic in localities.”
Over the years, Nigeria has grappled with oil theft, resulting in the loss of lives, including security personnel, and the siphoning of multi-billion naira due to the menace.
Oil theft in Nigeria involves illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism, and unauthorized siphoning of crude oil from production sites and pipelines. Criminal syndicates and local communities are often involved in these activities.
The ICIR on June 16, reported how Asari Dokubo accused the Nigerian military of massive oil theft in the Niger Delta.
The former Niger Delta militant leader stressed that ordinary Niger Deltan, often held accountable for such actions, lacked the resources and would to carry out such activities.
According to him, some powerful groups operating from Abuja were involved in the unprecedented oil theft over the past eight years, adding that they had met their match and would be sent to prison.
On August 18, 2023, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said Nigeria lost over 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46.16 billion or N16.25 trillion from 2009 to 2020.
This loss is from theft and sabotage, amounting to losing over 140,000 barrels of crude valued at $10.7 million daily.
According to the agency, the total revenue earnings to the government of $741.48 billion came from the oil and gas sector and N635.3 billion from the solid minerals sector between 1999-2020 and 2006-2020, respectively.
To curb the menace, the Federal House of Representatives, on October 19, resolved to introduce legislative instruments to halt crude oil theft it said had led to the loss of over one billion dollars in revenue.
Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representative Benjamin Kalu made this submission on October 19, 2023, during the presentation of the report of an ad-hoc committee investigating crude oil theft and loss of revenue from oil and gas at the end of the week’s legislative activities.
The deputy speaker further explained that oil theft accounted for the loss of over $1 billion, which represents a huge percentage of the national budget.
He stressed that the scourge of oil theft impeded the government’s ability to executive critical projects for Nigeria’s prosperity.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M