•501 arrested in 8 months, oil thieves lobby for leadership change

By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja

Nigeria’s growing crude oil theft has led to a large loss of revenue accruals to the federal government, a development which has in recent months generated debates among diverse interests.

The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC last year revealed that between 2021 and June 2022, the nation’s oil output dropped by 12.5 per cent to 1.4 million barrels per day, including condensate, from 1.6 mb/d in the corresponding period of 2021.

In 2021 alone, oil thieves caused the country a loss of over $4.01 billion and by NNPC statistics, regular production in 2020 stood at 1.77mb/d, before sliding consistently to 1.6 mb/d and 1.4 mb/d in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Although, the Nigerian Navy has disputed claims by Nigeria’s oil company that oil thieves stole between 200,000 and 400,000 barrels of crude daily during the period, there is no gainsaying the fact that criminals are having fun times with Nigeria’s oil.

FG picks the gauntlet

Aside its directive to the Navy to brace up, the federal government has charged the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC to reverse the trend.

In a recent interview with Saturday Vanguard, Commandant General of the Corps, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi said his agency had applied for high calibre weapons to match what some of the criminals are using at crime scenes.

Audi has however read the Riot Act to Commandants in Niger Delta States to ensure full compliance with a Presidential order to rid the nation’s oil sector of economic saboteurs, vandals, and other category of criminals or risk sanctions.

In the interim, the Federal Government has commissioned eight gunboats acquired by the NSCDC as part of the Corps’ renewed onslaught on the menace of crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism in the country.

As the lead agency in Safeguarding Critical National Assets and Infrastructure, the NSCDC is mandated to use the available logistics provided by Government to reduce crime rate and by extension take the war against crude oil theft to the camp of the enemies.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the Dr Audi-led NSCDC is committed and determined to curb the menace of oil theft which is bleeding the economy mindlessly, a development which has led to a drop in the earnings of the government. This unhealthy development has equally led to environmental pollution and other health hazards recorded in places where crude and refined products have been unleashed on the environment from broken pipes.

The Federal Government has also dissolved all the anti-vandal units of the NSCDC guarding oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate connivance by some bad eggs in the system with non-state actors.

Audi ordered the dissolution during a meeting with top management and all state Commandants of the Corps to appraise its performance and policies.

He added that all road blocks in the troubled areas that are not approved by the Corps, have also been ordered to be dismantled.

Giving reasons for the dissolution, he said there was need to reconstitute the units so as to introduce fresh blood and do away with security operatives who may be accomplices.

“The NSCDC is saddled with the mandate to guard against oil theft, illegal oil bunkering through the provision of physical security to oil pipelines against vandalism.

“Therefore, any threat to the oil and gas sector is automatically considered as a high security concern owing to the debilitating effects it has on national development”, the CG said.

He also issued a marching order to all Zonal Commanders, State Commandants and Heads of Anti-vandal Units across formations to be battle ready with renewed vigour to stamp out oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the nation. 

Dr Audi directed continued strengthening of effective synergy with the military, relevant sister agencies as well as other stakeholders in the Corps’ avowed commitment to checkmate the ugly trend.
Saturday Vanguard checks revealed that between January and March this year, the NSCDC arrested 69 oil thieves in Akwa Ibom state alone.

Recently, about 200 suspects, and 300 trucks containing stolen crude oil were intercepted while the Corps destroyed over 50 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region.

For the purpose of effective monitoring of pipelines, Dr Audi told Saturday Vanguard that the Corps operates carefully through its Command and Control Centre, and has trained personnel on the use of drones through the Nigeria Energy Security NESEC platform and the deployment of drones for monitoring in the Niger Delta region.

“It is worthy of note, that the Corps has arrested thousands of vandals and people with criminal tendencies within the year, many of whom have been prosecuted and convicted, while others are undergoing prosecution, and some handed over to relevant security agencies within whose purview such acts of criminality fall”, he stated.

Apart from the Command and Control Centre to monitor pipeline vandalism, the Corps has set up two Special Task Forces known as the Commandant General Special Intelligence Squad (SIS) to tackle any form of criminal activities on one hand and CG Special Anti vandal Squad on the other hand, to monitor and arrest anyone suspected to be involved in any act of vandalism, or those in possession of suspected vandalized products, operatives of illegal refineries, illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, diversion of petroleum products, hoarding and selling above government approved pump price.

Oil thieves fight back

Within eight months, the NSCDC arrested no fewer than 501 suspected vandals and oil thieves while it also secured 49 convictions and destroyed 71 illegal refineries within the same period.

Expectedly, some elements, who have presumably been prime beneficiaries of crude oil theft seem to be fighting back, with some of them reportedly using certain top politicians to lobby the Presidency on the need for leadership change at the NSCDC.

While an NSCDC CG has a five-year inviolable tenure, except where there are proven cases of gross misconduct, a commandant general can however be reappointed for a second term of five years.

Curiously, many of those who had for decades, held Nigeria’s oil pipelines by the jugular would rather want Dr Audi out of their way in order to have a pliant CG who would do their bidding.

With commensurate funding and adequate equipment, the Audi-led NSCDC could even triple its achievements.

While the NSCDC is the lead agency in the protection of Nigeria’s Critical National Assets and Infrastructure CNAI, the Corps which has often partnered the military and the Department of State Services DSS in various training programmes has not been adequately funded and equipped.

Those who currently steal Nigeria’s crude oil have gone beyond sole reliance on AK-47 rifles. In addition, crude oil thieves now use rocket launchers as well as General Purpose Machine Guns GPMGs. To stop the thieves in their tracks, NSCDC’s fire power in this regard has to be upgraded to equal the criminals, if not surpass them.

Despite the odds stacked against it, the NSCDC under Audi is daily proving itself worthy of the confidence reposed in it by its founding fathers.

As part of measures to enhance intelligence gathering, Dr Audi has strengthened the intelligence arm of the Corps. He has also revitalized the Private Guards department which has registered scores of Private Guards Companies PGCs. These companies have assisted the Corps in gathering intelligence in and around markets, schools and business plazas.

Having spent two years in office, Dr Audi seem to have achieved more than he had set out for himself.
On assumption of office, he had pledged to continue to train and retrain his personnel. This has led to the establishment of a Staff College in Jos, Plateau state, as well as other training schools across the geopolitical zones.

“I am a digital man. I like to drive this Corps to be a world class service. I will use training. When you train and retrain your personnel, they will give you their best and you will enhance their productivity,” he had told Saturday Vanguard.

Safe Schools

The safe school initiative was one of the things he promised to focus on. Today, the NSCDC is the lead agency in safe schools initiative.

He pointed out that as the lead agency in the programme, the NSCDC in May 2021, conducted a vulnerability survey of all schools in the country and have published the statistics obtained of all vulnerable schools for necessary action.

The Corps helmsman maintained that in continuation of its resolve to ensure security in schools, the NSCDC with assistance from the Federal Ministry of Finance, flagged off the National Safe School Response Coordination Centre on the 13th of February, 2023 to commence the national implementation of the programme.

Over 10,000 trained in weapon handling

Within two years, Dr Audi has trained over 10,000 personnel in weapon handling and special tactics.
According to him, the newly-trained officers and men would be deployed alongside newly-acquired assets to tackle lil theft.

Local language devt

As part of measures to boost the intelligence gathering capacity of the Corps, Dr Audi also secured partnership with the National Institute for Cultural Orientation NICO to commence a language proficiency training for officers and men of the Corps.

According to him, the initiative is to enhance their skills and mastery of the three major indigenous Nigerian languages as a panacea to breaking communication barriers during operations, intelligence gathering and information sharing among others.

Special Women Squad

What could be described as his signature achievement was the unveiling of an all-female combatant squad as part of the NSCDC safe schools initiative.

The female squad who have been trained in handling of various weapons are gradually been deployed in and around schools, starting with the Federal Capital Territory FCT and Katsina state.

Audi said he established the new squad due to the unprovoked and mindless attacks on Nigerians which has led to loss of lives and left in its trail gory images.

N-Alerts against SGBV

Within the period under review, Dr Audi also launched the Nigerian Internal Security and Public Safety Alert System (N-Alerts).

The system was designed to aid report of Sexual and Gender Based Violence SGBV before, during and after the general election.

Onslaught against corruption

In an earlier interview, the NSCDC CG said he had reached out to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC to strengthen synergy between both agencies.

The development led him to inaugurate the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit ACTU in the Corps which officers he deployed for the 2023 general election to monitor the conduct of NSCDC personnel at the polls.

The action was to avoid any situation of compromise and ensure that NSCDC election-duty personnel stayed true to their mandate.

Financial Crimes Dept
Within two years, Dr Audi also established a financial crimes department to track money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation of fire arms in the country.

“As part of our commitment to this national project, I have approved the setting up of a full pledged department called Financial Crimes Department with the independent mandates of handling all cases, including investigations, transfer or prosecution, of all Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, Proliferation Financing and other sundry financial crimes. This is expected to be replicated in all our Zones, Commands and Formations”, Dr Audi had stated at the opening of a two-day training for NSCDC investigators and prosecutors drawn from across the country.

Agro rangers

The Agro rangers squad preceded his administration, but the NSCDC CG has been able to carry the torch, increasing the number of personnel in the squad and procuring more weapons and vehicles, including motorcycles to navigate hard-to-reach farming settlements.

He said the move became necessary to strengthen the combative capacity of NSCDC Agro Rangers Squad in stemming the tide of huge revenue loss, occasioned by the farmers-herders clashes.

Staff Welfare and Promotion

Saturday Vanguard checks revealed that the vexed issue of staff promotion is gradually been handled. The challenge now is with the 2005, 2010 and 2012 sets of the Corps.

Although, many of them have now been promoted under Audi, a substantial number are still affected.
When Saturday Vanguard took him up on the remaining personnel yet to be promoted, Audi said; “When somebody is working, he wants to be promoted.

“When somebody has been promoted, you need to pay him the backlog of arrears that are due to him. We came and met a backlog of promotion arrears but as of today, we are no longer owing.

“We are aware that we have some of our personnel who belong to 2012 and 2010 sets but we are working on it because it is an inherited problem which we are dealing with. We have tried to elevate some of them based on available vacancies given to us from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation OHCSF. Promotion is done based on vacancies and federal character. So, I will appeal to them to be patient.”