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Tag: thieves

  • PPMC’s private security firm nabs oil thieves in Ogun State

    PPMC’s private security firm nabs oil thieves in Ogun State

    Topline Leighton Limited is a private pipeline surveillance firm hired by the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) to monitor its System 2B that runs from Atlas Cove in Lagos State through Ogun and Ondo states to Ilorin in Kwara State. The firm has, between January and this month, punctured major illegal oil bunkering sites, including Roberts Village near Atlas Cove and Ogere Waterworks, among others. It also caught some suspected vandals. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    •Over 1,000 jerry cans of petrol seized

    A major breakthrough in the fight against pipeline vandalism and oil theft has  been achieved.

    A private pipeline surveillance firm, Topline Leighton Limited, hired by the Pipeline and Products marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has caught some oil thieves at Ogere in Ogun State.

    The alleged oil thieves hacked the PPMC’s System 2B Pipeline at Ogere Waterworks area of Ogun State. The pipeline right of way is in the bush and has been a haven for vandals.

    However, luck ran against them (vandals) this week. The alleged thieves include Mr. Lanre Adewusi (47years), from Ogun State, Agbor Ayang (25 years) from Cross River, and Ebak Oyama (24years) from Cross River.

    They however denied being vandals and oil thieves when interviewed by The Nation. They said they were lured into the bush by a friend who said they were being hired to load planks.

    The Ogere illegal bunkering site has been notorious and the illegal activities there have degraded and polluted a greater part of the area with several abandoned wells and spills. At the site, about 1000 jerry cans of between 30 and 50 litres loaded with petrol (premium motor spirit) were impounded by the security agents and another over 1500 empty jerry cans packed in different parts of the bush.

    The Security Coordinator, Topline Leighton Limited, Mr. Adigun Adetona, after the inspection of the pipelines and stolen fuel, said the pipeline surveillance firm was hired to monitor NNPC/PPMC system 2B pipeline from Atlas cove to Ilorin in Kwara State. The System 2B Pipeline runs from Atlas Cove in Lagos through Mosimi in Ogun State to Ore in Ondo State and to Ilorin in Kwara State.

    “You saw we recovered over 1000 of jerry cans filled with petrol from the arrested vandals, as well as their equipment,’’he said.

    Adigun said since his firm assumed the surveillance of the pipelines, it has made series of arrests at Atlas Cove and environs and new discoveries of where vandals operate.  He said: “We are in-charge of the safety and Security of NNPC pipeline from Atlas Cove to Mosimi to Ibadan and from Ore to Ilorin. We are glad because of the landmark achievement here in Ogere Waterworks. You can see what we detected. Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have been going on here for decades but nobody has been able to apprehend the vandals but with our efforts and the collaboration of the security agencies, we are able to make this breakthrough. This is our commonwealth; they (vandals) are stealing. With the collaboration of other security agencies including the Police, Navy, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, we are ready to match them in all fronts and ensure that our national assets are secured.”

    Adigun warned vandals to desist from destroying national assets and values, adding that it will no longer be business as usual. He said the vandals would  be handed over to the police for interrogation, adding that his firm’s efforts had reduced the number of attacks by vandals, which has improved the pumping of petroleum products from the depots. The pumping has been frequent and regular.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive on zero tolerance against oil theft and pipeline vandalism had started yielding results.

    The Public Relations Officer, Mosimi Office, PPMC, Mr Godwin Agono, was also excited over the arrest of the vandals and noted that the stolen fuel would be returned to the depot. He lamented the loss of petrol from the Mosimi depot on daily basis due to the vandals’ activities.

    He told The Nation that quantity of stolen fuel seen at the Ogere illegal bunkering site sends a big signal in terms of the battles the PPMC face, adding that the more programme and models applied to curb their activities, the better technology often deployed by vandals.

    The Operations Manager and leader of the pipelines surveillance group, Mr. Aminu Joshua, appealed to the government for more support to track down more vandals. He said information about the Ogere arrest was put into reality on Monday during their patrol of pipeline’s right of way and discovered that about three trucks were coming out from the bush and were loaded with petrol.

    He said that oil theft had been the major occupation of the community, adding that they engaged the vandals in gun battle. ‘’We urge NNPC and other government agencies to support the pipeline surveillance team in other to drive the vandals away’’,he said.

  • Navy hands over suspected oil thieves to IG

    The Navy has handed over 11 suspects arrested on a vessel apparently used to steal crude to the inspector general of Police (IGP).

    The NNS Delta, on November 14, last year, arrested MT Camille, carrying about 4,000 metric tonnes of suspected stolen crude, on the Forcados waters.

    The Commander of NNS Delta in Warri, Commodore Raimi Mohammed, while handing over the suspects to representatives of the IGP, said the Navy would not relent in the battle against oil theft.

    Commodore Mohammed, who was represented by the Base Operations Officer, Commander Shehu Tasiu, urged the police to prosecute oil thieves.

    “I am directed to hand over 11 crew members of the vessel to the inspector general of Police for further investigation and possible prosecution.

    “The Navy request that the suspects be properly profiled for future reference and that you furnish the Naval Headquarters with the outcome of your investigation. I wish to restate the Navy’s commitment to assisting the Police in curbing crime”, he said.

    Receiving the suspects, the leader of a Special Investigation Panel (SIP), Assistant Commissioner of Police Shawulu E. Dan-Mamman, said the police would ensure that a thorough investigation was carried out and those found wanting would face the law.

    Dan-Mamman said the Police would  partner other security agencies  to eradicate crime and criminality in the country.

    “As you are aware, I want to assure you that the police will partner other security agencies in the war againt oil theft. We shall get to the root of this matter and appropriate  action taken against the suspects.”

  • NNPC loses N50b petrol to thieves

    NNPC loses N50b petrol to thieves

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday said 531 million litres of petrol, valued at over N50 billion was lost to pipeline vandals between January and September.

    This occured at the problematic System 2B Pipeline network which stretches from the Atlas Cove in Lagos to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    In a presentation to the Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream, the Managing Director,  Pipelines and Product Marketing Company  (PPMC), Mrs. Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, said the losses accrued from the incessant hacking of the pipeline at the Arepo to Mosimi axis of the artery. This has made providing seamless flow of petroleum products to retail outlets more burdensome.

    Mrs. Nnamdi-Ogbue said that despite the challenge posed by the inavailability of the vital System 2B Pipeline network, the PPMC has continued to ensure that the country remains wet with petrol through massive truck-out from depots in Lagos, Oghara and recently Calabar.

    She said the spirited efforts made so far by the Corporation to entrench zero fuel queues across the country were being hampered by the activities of some unscrupulous marketers involved in hoarding, sharp practices and diversion of petroleum products for sale in black markets across the country.

    NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ohi Alegbe, who said this in a statement, quoted her as saying, “We view this as a distortion to the economy and we have invited the DSS and the EFCC to take action.”

    Earlier in his presentation, the Group Executive Director, Commercial and Investment, Dr. Babatunde Adeniran, told the Senate Committee that the fuel situation was exacerbated by the inability of oil marketers to meet their import allocation quota due to outstanding subsidy payments, thus creating a gap which PPMC has been working round the clock to bridge despite the extraneous challenges like hoarding and incessant pipeline hacking..

    Answering a question on the ways to ensure a lasting solution to fuel scarcity,  Dr. Jamila Shu’ara, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and leader of the delegation, stressed the need to build strategic reserve stock of petroleum products akin to the national grain reserves across the country.

    Senator Uche Ekwunife, Committee Chairman, while acknowledging the efforts made so far made by the NNPC to ensure unimpeded fuel supply,  gave the Ministry two weeks to ensure sanity in the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

  • Oil thieves held

    Oil thieves held

    The Bayelsa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has nabbed eight persons for alleged illegal oil bunkering and sale adulterated Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to a filling station in the state.

    The suspects were apprehended in two separate incidents in Southern Ijaw and Yenagoa local government areas.

    It was gathered that some of them were arrested along Yenagoa-Mbiama Road while discharging the adulterated petroleum product to Lion Filling Station.

    The suspects, it was learnt, succeeded in transporting 25 drums of adulterated petrol by hiding them in a big truck conveying woods; creating the impression that they were carrying woods. This aimed at beating security checks.

    But luck reportedly ran out on them when they were rounded up by the NSCDC operatives at the point of discharging the products.

    The state Commandant, NSCDC, Mr. Desmond Agu, who spoke while parading the suspects, said the suspects were arrested on November 7.

    Agu said: “Four persons were arrested on November 7 at Lion Fuel Station on Yenagoa-Mbiama Road where 25 drums containing adulterated petrol were being discharged.

    “The petrol was siphoned from the Nigerian Agip Oil Company’s pipeline at Taylor Creek in Azuzuama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    “The other four persons were caught at Otuegwe community in Bayelsa. They were involved in illegal bunkering activities. Thirty-Three jerry cans, a motor cycle, long hoses and three wheelbarrows were recovered from them.”

    Agu added that over 16,000 litres of Automated Gas Oil (diesel) were seized from other suspected oil thieves in Yenagoa.

    He, however, said the suspects were yet to be apprehended, adding that his operatives had intensified efforts to arrest those behind the illegal deal.

    He re-affirmed his command’s commitment to fighting vandalism,  illegal bunkering and other oil-related theft to a standstill.

    Agu, who promised to prosecute the eight suspects, stated the corps’ readiness to collaborate with other sister security agencies in the state to win the battle against pipeline vandalism, illegal bunkering and other oil-related theft.

    He said the command entered into partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Agip, to protect their facilities at different locations.

    He also said the command had set up the critical infrastructure unit and strengthened it to effectively perform the duty of protecting critical assets.

    He said: “To this end, a good number of operators of the corps have been deployed to strategic areas, including the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company and other relevant authorities within its mandate to protect critical national assets.

    “The corps has become a part of the Bayelsa State special security outfit, codenamed Operation Doo Akpo. The command has, to a large extent, contributed to the relative peace in the state as crime and criminal activities have drastically reduced.”

    He added that the command had made tremendous arrests, out of which, 18 persons were currently being prosecuted in law courts.

  • Three suspected oil thieves held in Delta

    •Woman among suspects

    The Navy has arrested three persons, including a woman, in Delta State for alleged oil theft.

    The operation was part of Navy’s quest to rid the Niger Delta of oil thieves and other criminals.

    It was led by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), the Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman, in the Jones Creek of Warri Southwest Local Government Area.

    The Navy also destroyed five Illegal refineries and 320,000 metric tonnes of illegally-refined petroleum products.

    It raided some clandestine bases of oil thieves and burnt the equipment used to refine and steal petroleum products, including engine boats, estimated at several millions of naira.

    Twelve “Cotonou boats”, said to be laden with petroleum products, were destroyed.

    Addressing reporters after the operation, which lasted five hours, Suleiman said the crusade against illegal oil bunkering would continue until the perpetrators were brought to their knees.

    He said: “It is the mandate given to us by the Chief of Naval Staff, to go all out against illegal oil bunkerers. We must attain this through the effort of all concerned, including the media, stakeholders and informants.

    “It is possible that we may not be able to eradicate the scourge completely, but we will try as much as possible to reduce it to the barest minimum.”

    The Naval chief stressed the need to fight oil theft and save the nation a huge revenue loss.

    He said the suspects would be handed over to the appropriate authorities.

  • Navy invades community of oil thieves

    Navy invades community of oil thieves

    Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman has just taken over the leadership of the strategically located Central Naval Command (CNC) of the Nigerian Navy. The CNC has its headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Its areas of operation, perhaps, have the largest deposit of petroleum, the mainstay of Nigerian economy.

    His body language indicates that he is a no-nonsense man and has a brief to confront oil theft head on without compromise.

    Suleiman, a former Chief Staff Officer, Naval Training Command, Apapa, Lagos State, took over from Rear Admiral Stanley Ogoigbe, who has been redeployed to the Nigerian Navy headquarters, Abuja.

    Immediately he took charge of the command, Suleiman warned commanders, officers and ratings against compromising rules of engagement in their areas of responsibilities.

    He appealed to the naval personnel to be totally committed to their work and avoid actions that could tarnish the image of the Navy.

    He said: “I want to reiterate here that naval personnel should work with the right attitude. They should be committed to their work to realise the mission of the Nigerian Navy and for the interest of Nigerians.

    “For the commanders on ground, let me sound it loud and clear that the authorities of the Nigerian Navy will not tolerate any form of compromise on their part in carrying out their operations.

    “Collaboratively, we are going to do the job set out by the Chief of Naval Staff without compromises. The Navy will not tolerate those who aid and abet criminal activities. The Nigerian Navy is paying all of us well and we must justify it and portray the force in good light. We must do our work well to achieve the mandate of the force in tackling illegalities.

    “To my commanders, whether my seniors, sub-ordinates and contemporaries, I urge you all to join hands with me to achieve our collective goals. We must put the interest of the force and Nigerians at heart at all times.”

    He warned against committing premeditated errors, saying that such mistakes would attract necessary sanctions.

    There are indications that the character of Suleiman has strengthened the war against oil theft. The commander has, no doubt, hit the ground running. He took his campaign against oil theft to Bilabiri community in Ekeremor Local Government Area.

    His troops invaded a notorious creek in the area where massive illegal deals on oil had gone on for a long time. The creek is like community of illegal refineries. The operators established six camps of illegal refineries and linked them together with big pipes.

    On sighting the troops, the operators abandoned the site and fled to different directions. The troops took over the cooking site.

    The troops also confiscated over N10.2 billion worth of stolen products consisting of two million litres of illegally-refined automated gas oil (AGO) and over one million barrels of stolen substances suspected to be crude oil. Six large Cotonou boats used by the suspected thieves to transport the products were impounded by the troops.

    Suleiman further explained that the command achieved the feat through a tip-off. He said the oil thieves operated on a landmass of over 100 hectares and created a black market for massive illegal deals on stolen petroleum products.

    He said the command deployed its patrol teams from Delta and Yenagoa to ensure daily surveillance of the camps and the impounded boats.

    The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) was accompanied to the creeks by the Deputy Command Operations, CNC, Captain Mustapha Hassan and other senior officers.

    But Suleiman said destroying the camps as required by law, would lead to serious environmental pollution and detailed his men to take charge of the creek. He also ordered them to wait for further directive from the naval headquarters.

    A few days after the Bilabiri raid, Suleiman’s men nabbed 11 suspected workers of an oil exploration and production company for allegedly siphoning and selling crude oil from a wellhead in Bayelsa State.

    The suspected oil thieves were arrested at Eremor Field 1 at Peretorugbene town in Ekeremor Local Government Area. Suleiman said the suspects were apprehended from a vessel christened MT DERA 1.

    The vessel, which belongs to the exploration and production firm, was rounded up by naval troops during a routine patrol of oil facilities in the area. The FOC said he discovered that a pipe was connected from the wellhead to the vessel.

    He said the suspected thieves had already pumped crude oil valued at over 8,000 metric tonnes into the vessel when they were nabbed. Suleiman further said the oil firm was only authorised to take samples of the product from Eremor Field 1 but not to sell it out to buyers.

    He said: “Eremor Field 1 is not a loading point. So, selling of the product by staff of the oil firm was illegal.

    “They are only asked to take samples but from our investigation, we  understand that they have been selling the product from the barge.”

    The FOC revealed that the command, through investigation, discovered that members of staff of the company had sold 5,000 metric tonnes of the product. He further said the navy knew about the illegal deal when the buyer returned the product on the grounds that it was contaminated and then sued the exploration firm.

    The FOC noted that the suspects were handed over to the relevant agency while signals were sent to the Navy headquarters, Abuja for further direction. He warned persons involved in illegal oil activities in the area to desist from such nefarious activities forthwith or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

    He insisted that there would be no hiding place for oil thieves within the command’s area of operation, adding that troops have intensified patrol of the creeks.

    He said the Navy will continue to make illegal business of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and sundry crimes unattractive. The FOC further warned that oil thieves should desist from all forms of illegalities and get involved in meaningful and legitimate businesses.

    He was accompanied on the raid by the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship DELTA; Commodore Aliyu Sule, Commander Nigerian Naval Base Yenagoa; Commodore Yakubu Wambai, Command Deputy Operation Officer and Navy Captain Mustapha Hassan, among other principal staff officers of the Central Naval Command.

     

  • OPS nabs 19 suspected oil thieves, three vessels

    The Operation Pulo Shield (OPS), which removed the Joint Task Force (JTF) from its name, at the weekend, arrested 19 suspected oil thieves and three barges for offences of oil theft in the creeks of the Niger Delta.

    The Coordinator of the Joint Media Campaign Centre (JMCC), Lt.-Col. Isa Ado, said the three barges were seized by the OPS troops of Sector 2 patrolling Alakiri creek and Ikwete waterside of Rivers State.

    He said the barges were filled with Automated Gas Oil (AGO) suspected to have been siphoned from the Pipeline Products Management Company (PPMC) pipeline at the Imo River.

    Though he said no suspect was arrested during the operation, Ado added that the troops intercepted two tankers loaded with AGO and six Gulf cars conveying illegally refined products.

    He named other items recovered during the patrol as a bus loaded with stolen products and five speedboats.

    The barges, the spokesman said, were in the custody of OPS while the other equipment had been destroyed.

    Ado said troops at Makoba waterside arrested 13 suspected oil thieves operating with 24 locally-made boats filled with illegally refined AGO.

  • Photo: Army burn trucks belonging to petroleum thieves

    Photo: Army burn trucks belonging to petroleum thieves

    COMMANDER, 2 BRIGADE, NIGERIAN ARMY GARRISON, LT.-COL. TIMOTHY OPURUM, ADDRESSING NEWSMEN DURING THE BURNING OF TRUCKS BELONGING TO SUSPECTED CRUDE OIL AND DIESEL THIEVES, IN PORT HARCOURT ON THURSDAY
    COMMANDER, 2 BRIGADE, NIGERIAN ARMY GARRISON, LT.-COL. TIMOTHY OPURUM, ADDRESSING NEWSMEN DURING THE BURNING OF TRUCKS BELONGING TO SUSPECTED CRUDE OIL AND DIESEL THIEVES, IN PORT HARCOURT ON THURSDAY
  • Navy declares war on oil thieves

    Navy declares war on oil thieves

    •145,000 litres of stolen crude oil set ablaze in Rivers
    •Four illegal refineries operators arrested

    The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS), Pathfinder, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, seems to have declared war on illegal refining sites, following its destruction of illegal bunkering and refining sites in the state almost two weeks ago.

    The naval personnel, who had been combing the creeks  to prevent the activities of the illegal bunkerers and refiners, were offered N600,000.

    The Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Shuwa Mohammed, told reporters yesterday in Port Harcourt that four suspects, who were arrested and would be handed over to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    “Ironically, while setting the refinery ablaze, four out of the fleeing oil thieves came back and offered us a bribe of N600,000 to leave the refinery.

    “The four suspects were subsequently arrested and would be handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for investigation and prosecution,” he said.

    Mohammed said despite the renewed efforts by the naval high command to stop oil theft, the government should also sensitise of Nigerians  rather than destruction alone,” he said.

    During an aerial surveillance, many artisanal/illegal refineries, hidden under the mangrove forest, were sighted, with the environment polluted.

    There are over 33,000 creeks in the Niger Delta. NNS Pathfinder  monitors more than 1,000 of the creeks and waterways.

    Mohammed said the mop-up was aimed at ending the colossal damage done to the environment by activities of the oil thieves, who he said had been puncturing pipelines to obtain crude oil illegally.

    The commander, who was represented by the Base Operation Officer, Commander Chidi Ejiofor, said there would be no hiding place for oil thieves and pipeline vandals.

    Mohammed said: “The mop-up ordered by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, is part of a series of operations lined up to end incessant crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in Rivers State.

    “During the aerial surveillance, many new illegal refineries were sighted, which prompted troops’ mobilisation.

    “In the course of our operations, an illegal refinery with 15 storage metal tanks, loaded with 145,000 litres of stolen crude oil, was set ablaze in Buguma, Asari-Toru LGA of Rivers State.”

    He also stated that more than 50,000 litres of illegally-refined diesel, stored in 10 cooking tanks, was also destroyed.

    He noted that a metal badge and dump, with the capacity of storing thousands of litres of petroleum products, were also destroyed.

    Mohammed maintained that more ilegal operators  who had fled the sites upon sighting the naval personnel, would soon be apprehended and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.

    He noted that in spite of the renewed efforts by the naval high command to stop oil theft, sensitisation was key to end the illegal activity.

    The commander said: “It is difficult to maintain 24-hour presence in all the creeks and oil facilities, especially considering the shallowness of some of the creeks, making them near impossible to patrol.”

     

  • Catching the thieves

    The tempo of the much orchestrated war against corruption was upped last week when President Buhari gave assurance that those fingered to have looted the funds of this nation would be arraigned at the courts in a matter of weeks. He told the National Peace Committee that his government had been compiling facts and figures pertaining to the nation’s stolen funds and names of those implicated in such odious deals will be known by Nigerians when they are charged to court.

    In the words of the president “those who have stolen the national wealth will be in court in a matter of weeks and Nigerians will know those who have short-changed them”

    For those impatient with the pace of the government especially in the fight against corruption, the president’s statement would strike as a soothing relief. This is so given the plethora of allegations of corruption we have been inundated with since the coming into being of the present administration.

    As things stand, everybody is waiting very anxiously to catch a glimpse of those alleged to be thieving the wealth of this country. It is not clear whether the scores of former governors and sundry public functionaries who have been standing trial for sundry financial infractions would fit into this list. But indications are that a new set of the alleged thieves will be unmasked when the trials start. One is led to this conclusion by two reasons. The first is that Buhari had told the nation times without number that he had secured the commitment of some powerful countries to help him track Nigeria’s looted funds hidden away in vaults abroad. There is the possibility given the way the president spoke that some success might have been recorded in this area.

    Secondly, the president seemed to have even said that much when he told his audience that his government has been compiling facts and figures on the funds stolen and those connected with them. There is everything to expect that new insights must have been thrown into the issue for the president to speak with the air of finality that marked his interaction with the peace committee.

    Whatever the case, it is good a thing some progress is being made in identifying avenues for the looting of the nation’s resources by rampaging and gluttonous elite. It is equally no less heart-warming that in identifying these avenues, those connected with them are going to be unmasked. Nigerians will be waiting anxiously to see this set of alleged thieves brought to book. But more importantly, we are interested in knowing the time frame and which administrations were covered. This interest is elicited by the fact that corruption has been with this nation for quite some time now. It cuts across governments. And the ground rules for this ignoble act must have been laid by successive governments both civilian and military.

    Given this fact, it is to be expected that in compiling facts and figures from both local and foreign sources, revelations are most likely to cut across regimes. Before now, so much had been recovered from the Abacha regime. But Abacha is not alone in it. There is nothing on earth to indicate that those before or after him are saints. The fight will get more meaningful if we are able to catch all those who had in the past through the same drain pipe looted our treasury. This nation is anxious to know the source of the stupendous wealth being paraded by former leaders both military and civilian.

    Former president Goodluck Jonathan gave a hint of this in the dying days of his regime when he said he is open to probe but added a caveat that it should go further to unravel how oil wells and marginal oil fields were awarded in the past. He would want such inquisition to focus on whether due process was followed. It will be rewarding if Buhari is able to unravel how the culture of theft in public life was implanted. The course of the war on corruption will also be better served if we are able to show that the tracks for looting which today’s leaders are following were actually laid by yesteryear leaders. That should be a more serious and rewarding approach to the matter. That is why the argument that the probe be limited to the immediate past regime is self-defeating. That plank of the argument does not make sense because it seems to be motivated by fear that some other interests are bound to suffer should the probe proceed further. It is nothing but an attempt to cover up the shoddy tracks of some people. Why should it be so if we are seriously committed to the war? What such positions imply in real terms is that if Buhari’s facts and figures regarding those implicated in the looting of the nation’s wealth indict other former leaders, he should shut his eyes to them and only arraign those connected with the immediate past regime. How justifiable it is remains to be imagined. How it will serve the course of the war against corruption would remain largely curious.

    There is a school of thought that subscribes to a more radical and holistic approach to the war. For this school, the war must get deeper down and must be more fundamental for it to make the desired impact. They believe that some of those who have benefited disproportionately from this theft must be made to forfeit them to the Nigerian state. And they are many.

    If information at Buhari’s disposal exposes such people, he would have made a mockery of the war if he turns a blind eye on them. These are some of the contradictions that arise in the attempt to put a time frame for curing a debilitating malaise. The right thing is to bring to book all those implicated by the information and facts available to the government.  If the Buhari administration is honest with the war on corruption, there is no way it will not stumble on huge facts that cut across regimes. If it decides to ignore these only to arraign those associated with the last regime, it would have laid itself bare to the accusation by Jonathan before he left office that he and his ministers were going to be persecuted because of the hard decisions they took while in office. It is not surprising that speculations to that effect have arisen. That may account for the advice of the committee to Buhari to follow due process in the prosecution of the war and that we are no longer in a military regime.

    If Jonathan and some of his ministers are implicated for financial impropriety, they should face the music. By the same logic, if Obasanjo, Yar’Adua or any former military leader and their ministers are involved in such deals, nobody should spare them. We must proceed beyond the immediate past as the case of Abacha has proven that military regimes were not insulated against corruption. The war is something the nation direly needs and confidence in it, is emboldened by the personality of Buhari more than any other thing else. He must proceed cautiously avoiding anything that will convey the remotest impression that he is on a voyage of witch-hunt.

    From the interactions with the peace committee, it would seem some mistakes are already being made in the way those suspected to have stolen funds are being handled. That is my interpretation of the committees’ advice to President Buhari that we are no longer in a military regime and a suspect is innocent until proven guilty. It was more of an indictment for the committee to have told the president that we are no longer in a military regime. Buhari is a civilian president and he knows that. To have reminded him of that reality meant there must have been dispositions and actions that suggest to the contrary. Such dispositions may be impatient with the delays in the disposition of cases by our regular courts. That is another issue that can make or mar the overall success of the campaign.

    All the same, the peace committee must be commended for the good work they have been doing. One is not certain how that committee of eminent and patriotic Nigerians was floated. But the success the nation is celebrating on the outcome of the last elections would not have been possible without the tiring efforts of the committee in preaching and ensuring peace before, during and after the elections. They should not relent.