Crime
Nigeria’s Petroleum Regulator Establishes an Investigation Panel to Fight Oil Theft

By Derrick Bangura
As Nigeria’s economy continues to suffer as a result of crude oil theft, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced on Tuesday that it had formed a team of experts to conduct a thorough audit of operators in the upstream petroleum industry over the last two years.
The decision, according to the commission, was made to determine the exact volume of crude oil stolen by vandals and saboteurs, in response to recent complaints made by various industry operators about the level of crude theft on a daily basis.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had on Monday lamented the unprecedented rate of oil theft recorded in recent times and its debilitating effect on government revenue and accretion to reserves.
The governor’s comment came a day after THISDAY reported similar concerns expressed by the Co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Austin Avuru, who called for a state of emergency in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
He had revealed that up to 80 per cent of oil pumped in the country, particularly in the east, were stolen.
Avuru spoke a few days after a businessman and Chairman Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, also bemoaned the worsening state of the industry, stressing that about 95 per cent of oil production does not get to the terminal.
Earlier, Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company (AEEPCO), operators of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) pipeline, had threatened to exit the facility due to incessant vandalism, perennial sabotage and outright theft.
Nigeria has not been able to meet its quota allocated by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), losing close to 400,000 barrels of oil per day to lack of capacity.
Owing to these concerns in the past few days, a statement signed by the Chief Executive of the Commission, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed the latest move to unravel the facts behind the theft, stating that the panel would carry out a forensic investigation to cover the technical and commercial operations of oil companies involved in drilling and selling of crude oil.
Komolafe stated that commission was not unaware of the, “tragedy of oil theft” which he noted has been a plague on the industry and had last year triggered an industry-wide initiative aimed at curbing it.
This, he said, was to help increase crude production levels; a development which he said followed an express presidential directive.
“Worried by incessant acts of sabotage by criminals and some unscrupulous persons within the industry, President Muhammadu Buhari had directed that all necessary mechanisms should be activated to curb oil theft in particular and immediately end other forms of economic sabotage in the oil and gas industry.
“Action on the directive commenced immediately and is on-going,” he stated.
The commission, he affirmed, thus considers worrisome, the crude loss figures recently being quoted in the media by some operators, given actions taken so far on the issue.
To ascertain the veracity of the claims, the commission, Komolafe explained, has activated all the necessary mechanisms to get to the root of the matter and establish the actual volume of crude stolen as against the volumes claimed.
While stepping up efforts to deal with the issue of oil theft in collaboration with the military and other relevant agencies, the commission, he added, has mandated the newly constituted panel to investigate the claims regarding the volume of theft from the various oils fields.
Furthermore, part of the points of reference was for the committee to establish the actual operational capacities of the operators; to find out if the volumes being touted are actual; and if so, what additional measures need to be put in place to effectively address the issue.
“While a stakeholders’ meeting has been called to discuss the matter with a view to jointly address the situation, the commission, at a meeting of its management meeting on Monday 21, activated its technical and commercial mandate to demand for the statement of financial accounts of the operators and reservoir accounts of productive oil wells for the last two years.
“This will entail both sales audit and reservoir audit to establish correlations between their technical and commercial activities vis-a-vis the monitoring and evaluation records available to regulatory agencies,” Komolafe stated.
Crime
Court remands 2 over alleged attempted murder

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.
Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.
The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.
Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.
The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.
She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.
“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.
Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.
He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.
Crime
Man jailed 3 months for stealing mobile phone

An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.
Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.
Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec. 1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.
He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.
Crime
Army apprehends 15 over suspected oil theft in Niger Delta

Troops of the Nigerian army have apprehended no fewer than 15 persons over suspected oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.
Lt.-Col. Danjuma Danjuma, the Spokesman, Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, said in a statement on Monday that the operations were carried out in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers recently.
Danjuma said that the army apprehended 15 persons, dismantled 32 artisanal refineries and seized 14 boats during operations.
He further said that during the operations, conducted between Jan. 6 and 12, the troops confiscated no fewer than 60,000 litres of various petroleum products
The spokesman said that the operations were part of a broader collaborative effort with other security agencies to combat oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Danjuma said that the raid commenced in Bille, Degema Local Government Area, and Rivers, where soldiers dismantled seven illegal refining sites, confiscated 20,000 litres of crude oil, and destroyed two boats.
“We also deactivated ten illegal refineries, several crude oil cooking pots, and receivers, and recovered about 19,000 litres of stolen petroleum products along the Imo River.
“In Odagwa, Etche, our troops intercepted three boats carrying about 12,000 litres of stolen crude oil and arrested three suspects in the process.
“Similar operations were carried out in Abiama, Asa, Obuzor, Okoloma, Ozaa, Ukwa, and Oyigbo” he added.
He stated that the soldiers advanced to Nkisa in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, where they confiscated 1,600 litres of crude oil and 1,200 litres adulterated diesel.
Danjuma said that along Ndoni Road, the troops intercepted a Toyota van transporting an estimated 1,200 litres of stolen condensate.
The spokesman said that in Buguma, Asari-Toru, Rivers, the troops dismantled two illegal refineries, seized 1,500 litres of stolen crude oil, and apprehended five suspects.
“In Baberegbene, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa, our soldiers dismantled an illegal artisanal refinery and intercepted a wooden boat carrying no fewer than 1,500 litres of stolen
“Similarly, an illegal refining site containing an unquantified quantity of stolen petroleum products was deactivated in Emago-Kugbo and Oluasiri communities in Nembe, Bayelsa.
“The operations continued in Akwa Ibom and Delta, where troops maintained a strong presence and effectively denied economic saboteurs the liberty to operate,” he said.
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