400 Incidents of Oil Theft Logged in June
By Ebere Inyama
(ENUGU) The Nigerian Police on Sunday, 7th July 2024, issued a statement via X calling the attention of the public to a viral video circulating on the internet wherein some men who were being interrogated over the hijack of a loaded petrol tanker in Enugu state, claimed to be serving police officers.
The suspects were arrested for hijacking a DAF SF Truck carrying 40,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) along the Ohodo-Opi Road in Igbo-Etiti County (LGA), Enugu State, located in the southeastern part of Nigeria on May 29, 2024.
The hijacked petrol tanker illustrated the tragic looting of Nigeria’s publicly owned petroleum asset, which Reuters reported in 2022 was 80 percent of the national oil production. Presidential contender Peter Obi said repeatedly during the 2023 election campaign that 80 percent of the national oil production was stolen, and in a recent thank-you tour visit of Nigerian diaspora in New Carrolton, Maryland attended by TruthNigeria, Obi observed that “one-third of the oil production is still stolen.” Obi told a Texas audience in 2020 that “official theft of oil” amounted to $2.4 billion a month.
Hijacking Petrol on Nigerian Highway
A petrol tanker driver who identified himself as “Denis” told TruthNigeria that one of the dangers often encountered by petrol tanker drivers on the highway is encounter with hijackers.
“Usually while on transit from Lagos to the Southeast to offload petrol, I carry one or two passengers not for the sake of the fare I would charge them, but to strengthen my security.
“I prefer to ride with uniformed policemen or soldiers so while moving to my destination, I look out for a uniformed policeman or soldier going my direction. My reason for that preference is that their presence in the vehicle often saves me from extortion by illegal toll gate operators,” Denis said.
“With a uniformed policeman or soldier by my side, I wouldn’t be delayed by policemen at the various checkpoints on the highway or by scammers who put barricades on dilapidated portions of major roads and extort money from motorists,” Denis went on to say.
“But the risk involved in such practice is that a hijacker may disguise as a uniformed policeman, and if one is not careful, he may end up being hijacked by the passenger,” he said.
In the press statement on Sunday 7, July 2024, the Police Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said that the suspects being interrogated in the viral video served as police officers before they were dismissed from the force.
“These individuals were apprehended after a meticulous operation which led to the rescue of the abducted driver and motor boy (the driver’s aide).
“Among those arrested are ex-Inspector Otache Egbe, ex-Insp. Abah Solomon and ex-Sgt. James Mamah.
”The investigation led to the recovery of significant exhibits, including two AK-47 rifles, 105 rounds of ammunition, and various security uniforms.
“The apprehended suspects have confessed to their crimes and are under investigation by the Enugu State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), with ongoing efforts to recover the stolen PMS.
“The suspects will soon appear in court for prosecution,” the statement read.
Adejobi however, neither disclosed the offence that led to the dismissal of the officers, nor did he disclose the date the officers were dismissed from the police.
Suspects Claim They Were On Official Duty, Collected Arms From Police Armory
Two of the suspects, James Mamah, who hails from Enugu state and Otache Egbe, who hails from Benue state located in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria, claimed to be police operatives attached to Obosi Divisional Police Headquarters, Anambra State located in the southeastern part of Nigeria.
The duo claimed that they escorted the truck to the Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu state, but they neither disclosed the identity of the person who hired them nor their take-off point.
Mamah claimed that the two AK-47 rifles, a Beretta pistol and four magazines recovered from them were assigned to them from the Obosi Divisional Police Headquarters in Anambra state.
NNPC Recorded 400 Incidents Of Oil Theft In Niger Delta Alone
The press statement by the police came barely two weeks after the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) disclosed that there were about 400 incidents of oil theft in one week in some locations in the Niger Delta region.
The apex oil regulatory agency had stated during its weekly program tagged “Energy and You” that the 400 incidents occurred between the 15th and 21st of June 2024.
According to NNPC, the incidents were reported by different companies and security agencies across the Niger Delta including Tantitta Security Ltd, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), Shell Petroleum Development Company, among others.
The bulk of the 400 oil thefts recorded during that week were recorded in the western region of Rivers and Bayelsa states, in the deep blue waters off the coast of the Niger Delta, the Eastern region and the Western Niger Delta (Delta state).
When Quest For Money Overrides Death-Penalty Fear
Oil theft first appeared in Nigerian law in 1975. The Petroleum Production and Distribution (Anti-Sabotage) Act 1975 mentions pipeline sabotage and provides penalties, including the death penalty for offenders.
But despite the provision of the law which stipulates death penalty for offenders, oil theft has continued to flourish in the Niger delta region of Nigeria for more than three decades now.
A professor of virology and then minister of petroleum and energy during the regime of Ibrahim Babangida (former military head of state between 1985 – 1993), the late Tam David West, estimated that Nigeria was losing N10 million (about $13 million based on the exchange rate in 1985) annually to crude theft.
Perhaps the climax of the situation was recorded in the year 2021, when a total of 116.46 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) worth N18.88 billion ($57.1 million) was reportedly stolen in Nigeria.
Ebere Inyama is an Imo state–based conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
