Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, CG NSCDC
•501 arrested in 8 months, oil thieves lobby for leadership change
Nigeria’s growing crude oil theft has led to a large loss of revenue accruals to the federal government, a development which has in recent months generated debates among diverse interests.
The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC last year revealed that between 2021 and June 2022, the nation’s oil output dropped by 12.5 per cent to 1.4 million barrels per day, including condensate, from 1.6 mb/d in the corresponding period of 2021.
In 2021 alone, oil thieves caused the country a loss of over $4.01 billion and by NNPC statistics, regular production in 2020 stood at 1.77mb/d, before sliding consistently to 1.6 mb/d and 1.4 mb/d in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Although, the Nigerian Navy has disputed claims by Nigeria’s oil company that oil thieves stole between 200,000 and 400,000 barrels of crude daily during the period, there is no gainsaying the fact that criminals are having fun times with Nigeria’s oil.
FG picks the gauntlet
Aside its directive to the Navy to brace up, the federal government has charged the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC to reverse the trend.
In a recent interview with Saturday Vanguard, Commandant General of the Corps, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi said his agency had applied for high calibre weapons to match what some of the criminals are using at crime scenes.
Audi has however read the Riot Act to Commandants in Niger Delta States to ensure full compliance with a Presidential order to rid the nation’s oil sector of economic saboteurs, vandals, and other category of criminals or risk sanctions.
In the interim, the Federal Government has commissioned eight gunboats acquired by the NSCDC as part of the Corps’ renewed onslaught on the menace of crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism in the country.
As the lead agency in Safeguarding Critical National Assets and Infrastructure, the NSCDC is mandated to use the available logistics provided by Government to reduce crime rate and by extension take the war against crude oil theft to the camp of the enemies.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the Dr Audi-led NSCDC is committed and determined to curb the menace of oil theft which is bleeding the economy mindlessly, a development which has led to a drop in the earnings of the government. This unhealthy development has equally led to environmental pollution and other health hazards recorded in places where crude and refined products have been unleashed on the environment from broken pipes.
The Federal Government has also dissolved all the anti-vandal units of the NSCDC guarding oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate connivance by some bad eggs in the system with non-state actors.
Audi ordered the dissolution during a meeting with top management and all state Commandants of the Corps to appraise its performance and policies.
He added that all road blocks in the troubled areas that are not approved by the Corps, have also been ordered to be dismantled.
Giving reasons for the dissolution, he said there was need to reconstitute the units so as to introduce fresh blood and do away with security operatives who may be accomplices.
“The NSCDC 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”, the CG said.
He also issued a marching order to all Zonal Commanders, State Commandants and Heads of Anti-vandal Units across formations to be battle ready with renewed vigour to stamp out oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the nation.
Dr Audi directed continued strengthening of effective synergy with the military, relevant sister agencies as well as other stakeholders in the Corps’ avowed commitment to checkmate the ugly trend.
Saturday Vanguard checks revealed that between January and March this year, the NSCDC arrested 69 oil thieves in Akwa Ibom state alone.
Recently, about 200 suspects, and 300 trucks containing stolen crude oil were intercepted while the Corps destroyed over 50 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region.
For the purpose of effective monitoring of pipelines, Dr Audi told Saturday Vanguard that the Corps operates carefully through its Command and Control Centre, and has trained personnel on the use of drones through the Nigeria Energy Security NESEC platform and the deployment of drones for monitoring in the Niger Delta region.
“It is worthy of note, that the Corps has arrested thousands of vandals and people with criminal tendencies within the year, many of whom have been prosecuted and convicted, while others are undergoing prosecution, and some handed over to relevant security agencies within whose purview such acts of criminality fall”, he stated.
Apart from the Command and Control Centre to monitor pipeline vandalism, the Corps has set up two Special Task Forces known as the Commandant General Special Intelligence Squad (SIS) to tackle any form of criminal activities on one hand and CG Special Anti vandal Squad on the other hand, to monitor and arrest anyone suspected to be involved in any act of vandalism, or those in possession of suspected vandalized products, operatives of illegal refineries, illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, diversion of petroleum products, hoarding and selling above government approved pump price.
Oil thieves fight back
Within eight months, the NSCDC arrested no fewer than 501 suspected vandals and oil thieves while it also secured 49 convictions and destroyed 71 illegal refineries within the same period.
Expectedly, some elements, who have presumably been prime beneficiaries of crude oil theft seem to be fighting back, with some of them reportedly using certain top politicians to lobby the Presidency on the need for leadership change at the NSCDC.
While an NSCDC CG has a five-year inviolable tenure, except where there are proven cases of gross misconduct, a commandant general can however be reappointed for a second term of five years.
Curiously, many of those who had for decades, held Nigeria’s oil pipelines by the jugular would rather want Dr Audi out of their way in order to have a pliant CG who would do their bidding.