The Chief of Defence of Staff, Christopher Musa, has given the reason why the Nigerian military has been unable to permanently end oil bunkering and theft in the Niger Delta region.
Mr Musa, an army general, spoke when he appeared on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.
He explained that communities in the region “protect” those carrying out the oil bunkering and also help to rebuild illegal oil refineries whenever the military personnel destroy them.
He said Nigeria is losing huge amounts of money to illegal activities in the region such as crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
“We are having a lot of problems with the communities in the Niger Delta. Some communities even protect individuals that do this (crude oil theft). On a daily basis, we destroy illegal oil refineries. (But) as we are doing that and turning around, they are fixing them (the illegal refineries) back,” Mr Musa said.
He expressed worry that those who engage in crude oil theft in the Niger Delta have developed capacities to fix illegal oil refineries destroyed by the military “at a very short term.”
“We have seen situations where, eight, seven, six kilometers away from pipelines, broken, drawn perfectly and connected to individual houses and they are moving these things (crude oil) out,” he stated.
Mr Musa said the fight against crude oil theft would have been seamless if Nigerians were reporting individuals who engage in the illegal activity to the military.
“We cannot be everywhere. If Nigerians report these issues to us, we will be able to address them,” he said.
Crude oil theft in Nigeria
Oil theft and its negative impact on the country’s economy have been a source of concern to the Nigerian government over the years.
Worried by the recurring crude oil theft, the federal government in August awarded a pipeline surveillance contract reportedly worth N48 billion per year (N4 billion per month) to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited to tackle the issue in the region.
The security company is operated by a former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo.
The security company has recorded a number of successes, especially during joint operations with the Nigerian military, which has resulted in the destruction of several illegal refineries in the region.
But oil theft has persisted in the region.
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