The ninth edition of the Chief Babatunde Olusola Benson(SAN) annual public lecture organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikorodu Branch, has come and gone, however the topic chosen by the Ikorodu Bar this time addressed an issue that seems to be  threatening the economic survival of the country.

The theme of the lecture organised as part of the Annual Law Week 2014 of the NBA, Ikorodu was: “Oil theft in Nigeria , the Moral, Legal and Economic Implication”.

The  Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), Mr. Lateef Fagbemi who presented the lecture had urged the federal government to impose stiffer penalty on whoever engaged in crude oil theft to serve as deterrent to others. Fagbemi argued that one of the major solutions to curb the crime was to amend  the laws regulating crude oil theft which will spell out stiffer punishments for offenders.

According to him, the law as it is applicable  “are too soft to act as enough deterrence for crude oil theft.” He said, “Crude oil theft involves huge sums of money and it is only reasonable that the punishment applicable must equally be severe.

A situation where a crude oil thief steals crude oil worth millions of dollars, only to be fined a paltry sum of N2,000 or sent to two years in jail is too ridiculous and makes a mockery of our judicial system.”

The senior lawyer said the activities of the crude oil thieves threaten the very existence of the country and its economic survival.

“When one considers that the economy of our country depends entirely on these incomes, therefore anything that tends to disrupt that delicate balance must be fought with all the arms in our arsenal until same is roundly defeated.”

The guest lecturer said that the time had come when crude oil thieves must be treated as economic saboteurs rather than ordinary criminals.

He frowned at the fact that a section of the Criminal Justice system allows an option of fine as a penalty for a convicted crude oil thief. He said, “It must surely be a prison term or something much stiffer. A fine of N2, 000 or  N10,000 can never atone for the destruction  that the activities  of these disgruntled criminals cause to our economy.

“A situation where they are stripped of their right to engage in political activities or contest for electoral posts on our land will not be out of place, considering the fact that they are enemies of the land whose criminal activities are primarily aimed at preventing all of us from enjoying the good things of life.”