Niger Delta Group Appeals To EFCC For Assistance In Curbing Oil Theft

The Community Development Committees (CDC) in Niger Delta’s oil and gas-producing areas have urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to more directly intervene in combating the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the region.

Naija News reports that the group made the call on Tuesday, February 13, during a courtesy visit by its Board of Trustees, led by Chairman Joseph Ambakederimo, to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, at the corporate headquarters of the Commission.

Ambakederimo emphasized that oil theft and infrastructure vandalism are acts of economic sabotage and pose a threat to national security.

He urged the EFCC to address these issues through preventive measures and diligent prosecution. He expressed concern about community involvement and the silence of individuals regarding oil theft, calling for national discourse on this critical issue.

“Oil theft and vandalization of oil infrastructure are issues of economic sabotage and a threat to national security. The EFCC is empowered by law to deal with economic saboteurs. We urge the Commission to give adequate attention to this threat to our environment in the Niger Delta and the economic sabotage of our country by adopting preventive measures and diligent prosecution of culprits”, he said.

“Community involvement in oil theft should be a cause for worry to every patriotic Nigerian. The complicity and conspiracy of silence by well-meaning individuals is even more troubling. This menace, at some point, affects everyone. We advocate for a more robust national discourse on this existential threat of our time,” he said.

In response, the EFCC boss, speaking through the Commission’s Secretary, Mohammad Hammajoda, commended the group’s initiative and guaranteed the Commission’s collaboration with relevant government agencies and non-state actors to eradicate crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

“We highly appreciate your presence. This is an important engagement towards finding a solution to the scourge of oil theft and vandalization of oil and gas infrastructure in the Niger Delta region.

“Apart from the fact that oil theft has made it difficult over the years for us as a country to meet up with our OPEC production quota, and by extension diminish the revenue we ought to make from crude oil sales for national development, the menace often comes with the evil of pipeline vandalism, which in several cases leaves a huge toll of environmental pollution, manifesting in the destruction of marine economy, farmlands and everything in the ecosystem, including human lives”, he said.

He stressed that curbing the prevalence of oil theft stands as a fundamental aspect of the Commission’s operations across various zonal commands in the southern regions, notably in the Niger Delta.