Oil thieves now Robin Hood in the Niger Delta...

An interesting dimension to the problem of oil theft in the Niger Delta Area, it has been revealed, is that oil thieves now embark on corporate social responsibilities, by building roads, hospitals, schools and engaging in other community development projects.

However, beginning from today, the Niger Delta will witness a massive military operation as the Nigerian Navy deploys eight warships, six gunboats and three halicopters, including aircraft used for maritime patrol by the Nigerian Air Force, to engage oil thieves who are bleeding the nation’s economy through illegal bunkering and flush them out of the region.

This development is coming on the heels of the criminal activities of oil thieves and the brazen manner they operate in the Niger Delta on a daily basis, which are already creating grave concern for stakeholders in the oil sector. Besides, official sources said the Federal Government was losing over $5 billion to the thieves annually.

Influential Nigerians

Security sources said it was discovered that influential Nigerians were behind the operations of the oil thieves. It was revealed that these Nigerians, mostly politicians, were using the illegal operations to amass wealth to oil their political machines in preparation for the next elections. They were said to be frustrating the efforts of the Federal Governmant and were even leaking official information to their protege-thieves.

The activities of the oil thieves, it was gathered, had become so organised because of the porosity of the nation’s waterways.

According to sources, these oil thieves had a deep understading of the nation’s waterways  to the extent that they knew that they were inadequately policed.

The oil thieves, it was said, were usually heavily armed and operated with big barges with which they stole oil by drilling big holes on the pipes conveying oil and rigging the holes with big hoses that could strectch for kilometres. They passed these underwater to the locations of their barges and/or tank farms.

Most times, the burst pipes would not be detected on time by the officials of the affected oil company who after noticing a depression in the flow of oil in the pipelines would then shut down the flow stations.  

“You can imagine some of these oil thieves have even built tank farms of their own in which they store the stolen oil,” a source stated, adding that oil thieves had become more daring in recent times and were usually aided by foreigners.

“These oil thieves have foreign collaborators,” a source stated, adding that one of such tank farms had been discovered and was located at Akwete area of the Niger Delta.

Official sources claimed that billions of dollars, about $5 billion, were lost to the oil thieves annually, while government appeared helpless in stopping them.

Though the operations of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) to enforce decorum in the region had been largely successful, they had only succeeded inslowing down the illegal activities of the oil marauders.

The JTF, it was said, was under-equipped. Its operational boats were outmodelled and could not match the ones used by these thieves. All these, coupled with the enormous risks workers of multinational oil corporations faced, were said to be causing serious concern for stakeholders in the sector, who were advocating the formation of a coast guard that would provide security along the nation’s coastlines.

“A coast guard, as it is done in other countries, would have solved most of the problems,” a source stated, adding that  what, perhaps, had become worrying was the ease the thieves operated and how they had been employing foreigners to assist them in their illegal business.

The foreign collaborators, it was explained, helped the illegal bunkerers to sell the oil and also helped them to procure arms, which were then smuggled into the country through their smuggling routes.

Oil thieves embark on community social responsibility
Another critical development that is said to be frustrating efforts to rid the Niger Delta of criminal oil thieves is the tactical support of communuities along the waterways where these illegal operatuions are beinmg carriesd out. According to sources, these oil thieves now engaged in community development projects.

“It will interest you to know that these oil thieves now build roads, hospitals and engage the in other activities in communuties where they carry out their illegal operations.

“So, members of the communities don’t even cooperate with officials of governbment, as they see these criminals as theiir benefactors,” a source explained.

Expectedly, today’s military operation in the area, which will last till Tuesday, was seen as government’s reaction to the problem, and it could go a long way in solving the oil theft problem.

A total of eight warships, six gunboats and three helicopters, including elements of the Nigerian Army and Maritime Patrol aircraft of the Nigerian Air Force, will be deployed in the Niger Delta area for the said purpose.

Towards this end, a ‘Fleet Evaluation Exercise,’ code-named Exercise Farauta, meaning hunting in Hausa language, will commence in the Bight of Bonny.

According to a statement issued by the Naval authorities and signed by the Director of Information, Commodore K. Aliyu, the Naval authorities had deemed it necessary to beef up its operations in the Bonny-Alaska-Excravos, Bonga and Bogi axes in the fight against crude oil theft.

“The aim of the exercise is to intensify the ongoing naval operations in the Niger Delta region with emphasis on Bonny-Akasa-Excravos axis (as an area notorious for crude oil theft) up to the extent of the offshore platform of Bonga and Bogi,” Aliyu noted.

The statement added that the decision was in consonance with the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan to armed forces with respect to stamping out the menace of illegal maritime activities, particularly crude oil theft, from the Niger Delta.

“In pursuance of Mr. President’s mandate to the armed forces to stamp out the prevalence of illegal maritime activities, particularly crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering and piracy, in Niger Delta region, the Nigerian navy will be conducting a major fleet evaluation exercise, code-named Exercise Farauta,” it concludes.