The hub of the oil industry in Niger Delta is notorious for all sorts of illegal activities such as bunkering, oil theft and the like. In this report, Correspondent AKINOLA AJIBADE who was on a familiarization tour of the Niger Delta recently, recounts his experience in the creeks of the region.
A SENSE of adventure, excitement, tinged with fear was the feeling that prevailed this fateful Wednesday afternoon, as the group set out on the trip. It was a familiarization tour of the oil-producing areas of the Niger Delta, purposely to explore the areas where oil theft is prevalent and the devastation caused by such activities. The voyage, which started from Warri and was expected to end up on Escravos on the Warri waterway, started at about 1.30pm.
Ordinarily, it ought to last three hours. But, on that fateful day, the group spent over four hours on the sea, due to adverse weather and the attendant turbulence.
Immediately, the gun boat ferrying the group of soldiers and this reporter to Escravos and other oil sites moved out of the shore further into the water, a sense of exhilaration assailed one; one was captivated by the beauty and splendor in nature. The soldiers were detailed by the immediate past Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Major-General Emmanuel Atewe, to take the reporter to Escravos and other oil sites in the region.
The temperature was generally cold. Warri waterway not only stretched over several kilometers, it was also sandwiched within the creeks. On this fateful day, a cloudy atmosphere prevailed, suggesting that a downpour was imminent. But, the enthusiasm of the reporter was not dampened. In the first few minutes, there was fun and excitement as he beheld the creeks and the intriguing water. Occupants of the boat cracked jokes, as the driver navigated the river with dexterity.
But, suddenly the heavens opened and what started as drizzle became a heavy downpour. As the group approached Burutu Local Government Area, Delta State, precisely in front of the moribund Floating Fuel Station built by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the community, the speedboat was forced to slow down. By then, the occupants of the boat were drenched.
The reporter particularly was also gripped with fear, as the boat almost capsized. Several thoughts raced through his mind in that instant: What if the boat capsized, since the vision of the driver had been impaired by the rain? What would be his fate in the event of a mishap? Being the only civilian in the boat, he had his heart in his mouth throughout the journey; he muttered prayers intermittently, each time the boat ran into turbulence. It was a big relief eventually when the boat berthed at Shell terminus in Forcados.
According to the information provided by the soldiers, two things marked out Forcados as a haven for potentials oil thieves and illegal oil bunkerers. First, it is a few kilometers to the high sea, meaning that it would be easier for vessels carrying stolen crude oil to escape to the neighbouring countries, if care is not taken. Secondly, the area is surrounded by creeks, implying that nature has provided a hideout for pipeline vandals and other criminals to hide in order to evade arrest.
Forcados was one of the places which Gen. Atewe recommended that the soldiers should take the reporter to. This is because a ship laden with stolen crude oil was recently intercepted around Forcados.
As the occupants of the boat disembarked one after the other from the boat, the feeling was one of relief; though they still had more grounds to cover on the trip. The reporter was gripped with fear, while disembarking.
His fears were heightened when Lt. Col Ado Isa, the JTF’s spokesman and the leader of the expedition, threw banter at him. He said: “We would throw Mr. Ajibade (this reporter) into the water, to see whether he would sink or swim. Amidst a general round of laughter, he tried to put up a bold face, but inwardly, he was saying God forbid.
The group soon encountered a ship laden with stolen crude oil. They boarded the ship with a rope weaved in form of staircase. The ship, measuring about (100 feet long), (20feet tall) and (25 feet wide), has 10 compartments. Nine of the compartments were filled with stolen crude oil. Other features include a small room and a bed, which presumably belongs to the crew. There is also a separate room for the captain.
The Nation findings reveal that each of the compartments contains 330,000 litres of crude oil, which translates to 2.97million litres when multiplied by nine. It was further gathered that each compartment contains 10 trucks of crude oil, meaning that 90 trucks of crude oil have been stolen. It is intriguing that a country where an average Nigerian lives on less $3 per day, according to the Poverty Index for Developing Nations released by the World Bank in 2014, the nation’s resources are being cornered by a few greedy individuals.
The Nation gathered that crude oil theft is a highly organised crime that requires the participation of different kinds of people. Among those believed to be involved in the crime are people who have a fair knowledge of the area and who have considerable resources as a take-off fund. Also involved in oil theft are ship owners who rent their vessels out at a cost, and agents abroad detailed by crude oil thieves, to take delivery of the product.
It is considerably easier for such people to be involved in the crime, since they have the wherewithal and knowledge of what obtains in the industry. Some of the thieves, it was gathered, operate from a river in an area known as Yokri in Burutu Local Government Area. They are taking advantage of an oil pipeline constructed under the river by one of the oil exploration companies. Their modus operandi is to break the pipeline, connect a hose on it and pass the hose to a vessel. The vessel used for this particular case is named MT IBIENE. Despite all search, such company name could not be found on the internet, implying that the name was fake.
But, as it happened this time, the suspected criminals were caught in the act by the gunboat of Special Anti-Oil Bunkering Squad of the JTF. On sighting the soldiers, they tried to flee, but the vessel refused to accelerate; probably due to heavy load. Sensing danger, the thieves jumped into the sea, seized a fast-moving and powerful boat and escaped before the JTF operatives could move closer to them.
Corroborating this view, the Head of the Squad, Captain Sunday Olajide, said the thieves escaped through a fast-moving boat. He said the boat has 200-horse power machine, and moves faster than the one with 75 horse power, which is the one used by the JTF squad. He said he and his men moved in immediately they heard that a ship that was carrying stolen crude oil was about to escape to the high sea and from there, cross to the neighbouring countries.
He said: “When the thieves realised that we (JTF squad) were closing in on them, they abandoned the ship, jumped into the river and hijacked a speed boat and escaped. The thieves would have moved the ship to the high sea and escaped, if not for the intervention of the JTF. Efforts to get them arrested have proved unsuccessful, as they speed off. At this point, the only available option was to pilot the ship to a safer zone and monitor it to forestall any act of vandalism.”
Another ship was intercepted along Alakiri waterway in Okrika Local Government of Rivers State, by the JTF. The barge contains an unspecified volume of Automated Gas Oil (AGO) believed to have been illegally refined. The vessel was on its way to the high sea when it was arrested. It has four compartments; they were loaded with stolen products. Besides, according to experts, there are dozens of illegal refineries and dumpsites dotting Alakiri axis of the state.
A closer look at these refineries by The Nation reveals that they are made up of drums, while the dumpsites were carved out of the mother earth. The sites are rectangle in shape and moderate in size. This is probably to make the job of processing crude into petroleum products easier.
There are also sites where the processing vessels are wooden. They are made in form of pegs to give support to the sites. Inside the sites are crude oil stored for onward movement to refineries where they are going to be processed into petroleum products.
There are quite a number of communities with dumpsites and illegal refineries; including those on the fringe of the river.
As the boat set sail for Warri, the heaven opened and rain drops came tumbling down. As Majek Fashek, the maverick Reggae artist, said in his albums tittled ‘Send Down The Rain’, the rain was coming from heaven fiercely. The sky was so dark that it obscured visibility. As usual, all the occupants of the boat were drenched. At a point, they removed their shoes, phones, and other valuables and kept them in a small locker in the boat.
“Is it your first time on the sea? Are you not afraid of the water?” Lt Col Ado Isa asked. “The covering of God is upon me and therefore I fear no evil,” the reporter replied. Thereafter, Isa ordered his men to give the reporter a military rain coat to wear. This they did with a sense of urgency.
On getting to Warri, the reporter felt a sense of relief. Probably the soldiers felt the same way. As the driver moved the boat closer to the jetty, the reporter started praising God for granting us safe journey. Oluwa O see o (Lord, thank you o), he muttered.
Beyond this, oil theft has left a lot of socio-economic and physiological trauma. Everywhere, there are scars occasioned by the plundering of the nation’s crude oil, which in local parlance is regarded as ‘national cake.’
At the individual, corporate and governmental levels, the grim effects of ‘black gold’ theft are evident. In many communities in the Niger Delta region, crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other untoward practices have caused untold damages to their residents.
The old, young, men and women have a sad story to tell. They eat, drink, feel and smell hydrocarbon, not minding the consequence of their actions.
A middle-aged woman, who identified herself as, Catherine Opobio, said the spills from the vandalised pipelines used to flow into the rivers, ditto the wells built by the residents for their domestic and commercial needs. Opobio, who lives in Gbaramotu community in Delta state, said she and other residents cook foods and bathe with water which is mixed with crude oil.
According to her, residents substitute crude oil for kerosene and use it for cooking, stressing that the development signifies a dangerous trend for the helpless and highly impoverished people living in the oil-producing areas.
She said: “Given this, I can say, many residents cook and bathe with crude oil. Often times, the crude oil concentration in our well water is huge. It is either crude oil seeped into the well water or spilled into it whenever pipelines were vandalised. Petroleum products are highly inflammable, not to talk of crude oil that is yet to pass through refining process. Cases abound where fire occurs, destroys houses and kills many people, following the decision of the residents to use crude oil for cooking.’’
She added: “The health implication of using water that contains crude oil for bathing is grievous. The water causes digestive, respiratory and other internal diseases. Emission of Hydrocarbon itself is deadly, because it kills people gradually.”
From Warri, Alakiri, Gbaramotu to Bodo community in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states, the residents have been experiencing the grim effects of oil spills, because they inhale hydrocarbon on a daily basis, a combination of hydrogen and carbon — the two harmful compounds emanating from petroleum products.
The same goes for farmlands that have lost their nutrients to oil spills in the area. Many residents are unable to do their traditional jobs of fishing and farming, due to oil spills. Besides, many residents in the oil-producing communities are prone to terminal diseases such as lung infection and kidney breakdown because they emit hydrocarbon.
Speaking on the issue, the officer- in -charge , Human Security in Conflict and Emergencies, Action Aid, Gbenro Olajuyigbe, said oil spills and allied crimes come with complete spectrum of pollution-air, land and water, adding that the development is having economical, ecological and psychological effects on the people.
He said: ”Pollution has resulted in poor quality of land, air and water, as well as causing life threatening diseases such as lung and kidney failure. There are a lot of breathing difficulty and eye – itching related health challenges; same goes for blood stained urination, acne and other skin problems that could easily be linked with excessive oil pollution. These pollutants combine together in varying permutations to destroy sauna and fauna, infringing on livelihood in the Niger Delta, leaving the people in the area poorer than they were before the unwholesome petro-chemical activities and accidents started few years ago..”
He added that waters in the area are unsafe, air are uncleaned, while land is acidic oozing out fumes that endanger life and reduce life span, noting that the development is affecting people living in the Niger Delta region.