By Egufe Yafugborhi

As an organized, huge rogue enterprise,  with local and international  collaborators, state and non-state actors lining the chain of beneficiaries, holds sway, oil theft remains an intractable monster in Nigeria.

Following frontal knocks instigated by mouthy ex-militant leader, Asari Dokubo, against the military for perceived involvement in the booming crime, the capture of a suspected rogue vessel laden with 150, 000 metric tons of crude oil didn’t surprise stakeholders who saw the drama as a face-saving measure.

While state actors basked in the euphoria of the snare of the MT TURA II (formerly Ali Riza Bey, IMO 6620462), the colossal cost of the military destruction of the alleged rogue vessel has not attracted cheers from critical observers.

After being seized and the crew detained, the vessel was reportedly bombed and razed by a military helicopter in an operation carried out by the Joint Task Force (JTF).

NNPCL spokesman, Garba Muhammad, said, “Details of this arrest and outcomes of investigations were escalated to appropriate government authorities, upon which it was concluded to destroy the vessel to serve as a strong warning and deterrent to all those participating in such illegal activities to cease and desist.

“Destroying vessels involved in transporting stolen crude oil is of paramount importance as a strong deterrent. The illegal trade of stolen crude oil not only inflicts significant economic losses on Nigeria and legitimate stakeholders in the oil industry, but also perpetuates a cycle of corruption, environmental devastation, and social instability.”

In the talking points on disapproval of this manner of taming oil thieves, Zik Gbemre, Coordinator, Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC), said, “Current Service Chiefs are either willfully ignorant or being malicious to advocate the indefensible. The military sound as if they only just realised this dangerous option like this (The MT TURA II) was the first time they were burning a rogue vessel.

“In the waterways, the JTF has been repeatedly burning small, medium boats and sea going vessels caught with stolen crude oil or illegally refined products, mostly diesel. Upland, burning of trucks bearing suspected illegally refined product, mostly diesel, are daily obscenities in the operating space, particularly lining the East West Road, from Warri to Port Harcourt.

Loaded Timeline on Vessels Destruction

Before the July incident, in the timeline on the latest incidents, in October 2022, a vessel, MT DEIMA, allegedly laden with 1500Mts of stolen crude, was arrested and set ablaze in the Warri, Escravos River.

January 3, 2023, NNPCL, in collaboration with a private security firm, destroyed MT Brighton 1, a barge loaded with alleged stolen crude following its arrest in December 2022 on a creek in the Ramos River, Agge, a border community between Delta and Bayelsa states.

May 2023, NNPCL announced security operatives setting ablaze a 1000 metric tons capacity barge allegedly loaded with crude oil at a final execution point in Oteghele, Delta State.

Gbemre said, “How many more vessels will NNPCL and the military have to burn to serve a strong enough deterrent to end oil theft? They can’t be serious.”

Falana fumes

On the October 2022 burning of the MT DEIMA, rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had called for the resignation of then-Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Lucky Irabor.

“In an embarrassing justification of the criminal conduct, the CDS said the swift destruction of the oil vessel by the criminal suspects is in line with “the rules of engagement”, Falana had said.

“As if self-help has become part of the rules of engagement, the General said the vessel was caught in the act and security agents subsequently set the instrument of operation ablaze, that no investigation is needed to carry out the action.

“It is trite law that only the Federal High Court is empowered to order interim or final forfeiture of any vessel used for conveying stolen crude oil. Therefore, the statement credited to Gen Irabor is a deliberate attempt to cover up involvement of military personnel in the serious crime of oil theft as no provision of the rules of engagement authorises military personnel or security operatives to set fire or destroy vessels loaded with stolen crude.”

“The CDS is not unaware that for avoidance of doubt, Section 111 of the Armed Forces Act provides, “A person subject to service law under this Act who willfully or maliciously sets fire to a public building, dwelling house, an office or any structure whatsoever, movable or immovable, whether completed or not, occupied or not; or to any vessel, ship, aircraft, railway track or wagon, or vehicle or thing; or to a mine or working, fitting or an appliance of a mine, is guilty of arson and liable, on conviction by a court-martial, to imprisonment for life.

“If the General decides not to call it quits, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Fores, (then) President Muhammadu Buhari should not hesitate to fire him. After all, by authorising the engagement of non-state actors (referring to involvement of Tompolo’s of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd, TSSNL) to carry out the constitutional duties of the armed forces, the President has lost confidence in the leadership of the armed forces”. 

Just as Falana was fuming over the burning of the MT DEIMA, the House of Representatives resolved that the circumstances and reason for the destruction of the vessel instead of preserving it for evidentiary use in court must be investigated.

The resolution was sequel to a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon Luke Onofiok who stressed that the vessel would have been a major piece of evidence in the prosecution of the culprits.

Tompolo faults Falana

Meanwhile, in a rejoinder through Emmanuel Jakpa, his legal consultant, Chief Government Ekpomukpolo, aka Tompolo, owner of multi-billion naira oil assets surveillance contract executing TSSNL faulted Falana.

The former militant commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) noted, “While Falana relies on the Armed forces Act, the applicable law is the Hydrocarbon Oils Refining Act.

“Section 15 of the Hydrocarbons Oil Refining Act provides, ‘If any officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that any refining of hydrocarbon oils, contrary to provisions of this Act, is being carried out, on any land or premises, he may enter thereon if need be by force, and dismantle or seize any apparatus and equipment used for or in connection with such unlawful refining.

“Therefore, the Chief of Defence Staff was right, and a person cannot be liable for an offense if he was authorized by law to do the act complained of. Reprising it all, an officer has the right to detain or dismantle anything used in connection with illegal refining, including a ship. Any person who claims they destroyed his property can go to court to seek redress, get compensation if he wins.

“For those worried about the rule of law or the destruction of evidence, while it is conceded that their concerns are genuine and germane, it is equally clear the best evidence for prosecution of a crime is confessional statement. It is also the law that no crime will go unpunished simply because the instrument by which the crime was committed is not produced in court.

“Equally genuine and germane are the concerns of those who are appalled by the further degradation of our already painfully disfigured Niger Delta environment. We agree this is one more act that further damages the delicate Niger Delta environment.

“It is a difficult choice, but we know that many ships seized by law enforcement agents lying at various ports across the country have sunk and discharged their cargo into the territorial waters of Nigeria polluting the environment, while lawyers fought over injunctions and counter injunctions and argued themselves hoarse sometimes for the better part of a decade.

Tompolo however fluffed his argument when he jumped to the conclusion that, “No lawyer or environmentalist to the best of my knowledge has raised a hue or cry over the harm done to our environment by such unintended but avoidable judicial mishaps.”

Relentless advocate for a cleaner environment, Nnimmo Bassey, harping on the environmental dangers of latest destruction of the MT TURA II, lamented, “One drop of crude oil contaminates 25ltrs of water. Imagine what 150,000Tns of crude would do. It means destruction of fisheries and livelihoods. It also means directly poisoning our people. It is shocking, unacceptable.

“How can security agents bomb a crude oil loaded vessel with Nigerians watching and filming as if they were being entertained. Oil theft is a crime. Blowing up a vessel loaded with crude oil is a higher order of malfeasance. The security forces need training on environmental and climate crises.”

Bassey, Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), added, “While the Niger Delta burns on account of gas flaring, oil spills and other forms of pollution, burning seized oil vessels is adding insult to injury. It’s sickening on many levels. Economic waste. Ecological assault.

“Considering the impact of such action on the marine ecosystem and the contribution to the pollution that has plagued the region, government agencies must adopt safe ways of handling rogue vessels, including ways of putting them out of commission.

“HOMEF sees the destruction as barbaric and a major contribution to ongoing pollution of our waters. The UNEP report on Ogoni environment and recently released report on the pollution of Bayelsa Stare should be required reading for our security agencies, NNPCL and all government agencies who should know the dangers of hydrocarbons pollution.

“Security cannot be a valid reason for blowing up the vessel. We need to know why this was done. And urgently too. The incident also confirmed the fact that Nigeria does not know the amount of crude oil that leaves the shores of the country on a daily basis.”

Reps intensify oversight

House of Representatives, during another plenary, resolved to empanel an adhoc committee to investigate the whereabouts of the 150, 000Mts of the crude oil in the burnt MT TURA II.

The resolution followed amendment of a motion, ‘Need to Discourage Destruction of Vessels Laden with Stolen Crude Oil with a view to Curbing Environmental Pollution in the Niger Delta Region’, moved by Thomas Ereyitomi (Warri Federal Constituency).