By Abdullahi Raman
The federal government and the NNPCL’s unyielding resolve to confront the menace of crude oil theft and its negative impact on the finances and environment of the nation respectively is beginning to send the right signals to those criminal cartels bent on undoing the nation that it is not going to be business as usual.
Just a few days ago, precisely on July 17 another mind boggling discovery was made in the fight against crude oil theft as operatives of Tantita Security Company and armed forces personnel stormed a company, Ebenco Global Link Limited in Koko, Warri North of Delta State. The sting operation was carried out after credible intelligence and surveillance that confirmed earlier suspicions that the Ebenco company yard was being used for illegal crude oil and gas operations running into the billions of Naira on a monthly basis and investigations confirmed this has been going on for a number years now. The sting operation also led to the arrest of a vessel, MV Treasure Hub red caught on the spot carrying out operations in the Ebenco Global Link yard. Investigations so far point to some prominent persons behind the ownership and operations of the company and yard.
Some of the measures that have been adopted in the onslaught against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft to serve as deterrence obviously seem borne out of the lessons of the ineffective and failed strategies of yesteryears.
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If the saga of the MT African Pride, a bunkering (another word for crude oil theft) vessel arrested on October 8, 2003, and the subsequent trial of three naval personnel symbolises the historical rot in the nation’s maritime security architecture, then it must be acknowledged that not much changed to this point, until the Buhari-led administration and the current NNPCL Executive led by Mallam Mele Kyari respectively reinvigorated the fight against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu it seems has anchored in where his predecessor berthed the resolve and has maintained the momentum in the rough waters in the fight against crude oil theft. Again, it must be noted that pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft increased dramatically in the last eight years in spite of the subsisting multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance contracts and the engagement of the armed forces in protecting oil and gas assets.
The federal government and the NNPCL it seems must have been perplexed by the unworkability of those contracts and faced with the realities of dwindling revenues, national and international embarrassments, the government and the NNPCL made a critical review of those unhelpful contracts and imbued new and better strategies in its partnership with Tantita Security Company that has since become a resounding success – it’s capacity, will power and uncompromising stance has made the difference.
The success of the renewed efforts of the federal government and the NNPCL have brought in its trail hostile criticisms from some sections of the public – some garbed in the language of environmental activism and others on social media handle bars, benignly parading under the cover of citizens journalism to make their enmity and hostility less obtrusive to the unsuspecting public.
We must understand that pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft accounts for more than half of the environmental degradation and destruction in the Niger Delta; this is evident and incontestable just as the success of the war against crude oil theft is a great win for the environment and people of the Niger Delta. We must therefore appreciate the federal government and the NNPCL efforts in this regards. We need the environmentalists to also help put pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft on the spot for all the destructions their actions have caused the Niger Delta Environment.
The desperation and exigencies of government socio-economic and financial obligations demands that the nefarious activities of crude oil theft and the cartels behind it must be reined in.
The Nigerian State, conservatively put the figures of stolen crude oil to about 700,000 a day to the criminal cartels, and that figure when computed with the average price of US$80 sums up to US$20 billion annually. Do the math for the last eight years and the figures become insane and crippling! Yes that is what has been carted away in just eight years by a few criminals that have held the rest of us hostage. No sane society and serious government would tolerate that much longer unless we have accepted a state of dystopia and lawlessness which portends great danger to the Nigerian State and would ultimately herald its insolvency and collapse.
The federal government, NNPCL, the armed forces and Tantita Security Company respectively have all been under attack lately by fifth columnists parading on social media as journalists ostensibly reeling out figures and briefs with the intent to embarrass the government and sabotage the onslaught against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. The government, NNPCL, the Armed Forces and Tantita Security Company must retain its grit and further harden its resolve. The criminal crude oil cartels with its deep pockets can buy social media’s self-acclaimed journalists in faraway shores and their handle bars in its futile attempts with the intentions to embarrass and derail the fight against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. Nonetheless, it is game over for the criminal cartels for in this battle, the federal government, NNPCL, the Armed Forces and Tantita Security Company have the support and total commitments of 200 million Nigerians.
In 2003, had the government of the day been resolute and unwavering in the fight against crude oil theft when the MT African Pride and its crew were arrested, in-between subsequent administrations’ initiated lacklustre attempts at confronting the unpatriotic and destructive monster of crude oil theft, twenty years on, this monster that continues to rob and deprive us and steadily feeds on our commonwealth and has become more deadly, would have been destroyed and put to rest. Now we have in our hands a decisive battle that will make or mar the Nigerian State.
In the last one year, as a result of the surveillance and intelligence work done by Tantita Security Company and the NNPCL, the armed forces have arrested a few vessels notably the MT TURA owned by a Nigerian registered company, Holab Maritime Services Limited with Registration number RC 813311 in July and another vessel with registration number L85 B9.50 in the month of October 2022. There are also over a thousand breaches made on the pipelines for syphoning crude oil that have been discovered, the most startling being that of the TRANS- FORCADOS Pipeline.
Crude oil theft and insecurity in the Niger Delta poses the greatest threat to the Trans-Sahara gas pipeline project traversing the Gulf of Guinea to Europe as the entire gas supply from Nigeria will come from the Niger Delta. When the European Union delegation together with NNPCL officials and the Joint Task Force visited illegal refineries sites in the Niger Delta, it was not only for the opportunity to access first-hand the impacts on the environment but more importantly, to evaluate for themselves also the business climate – the possible dangers and vulnerability any future investments are likely to face.
The successful operation of the Dangote Refinery will depend on the uninterrupted crude oil flow from the Niger Delta and the gas also to power the energy demand for a seamless production. Intelligence available unambiguously points to pipeline vandalism and criminal crude oil cartels as the singular threat to the successes of these projects.
The fight against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft is gaining momentum and fast yielding results, we commend the federal government, NNPCL, the Armed Forces and Tantita Security Company for this is a fight the nation cannot afford to lose. Nuhu Ribadu appointed as the National Security Adviser (NSA) at this critical time in the nation’s history as it faces some of the most challenging security quagmire, underscores the imperative for him to succeed based on his track record and pedigree as a no nonsense and uncompromising public servant. He must bring to bear his vast knowledge and skills to fighting crime and corruption to fighting the criminal syndicate.
•Raman writes from Abuja.