Oil bunkering: Reps probe destruction of arrested oil vessel by security ops

The House of Representatives on Wednesday resolved to investigate the circumstances and reasons for the swift destruction of an oil bunkering vessel by security operatives instead of preserving it for evidentiary use in the prosecution of the matter.

This followed the adoption of a motion on a matter of urgent national importance by Rep. Onofiok Akpan Luke (PDP, Akwa Ibom) on the urgent need to investigate the circumstances of the setting ablaze of an oil vessel allegedly involved in oil theft by security operatives.

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Daily Trust reports that officers of the Nigerian Navy in Delta State on Monday destroyed an illegal oil bunkering vessel arrested with stolen crude oil off the Niger Delta creeks.

It was reported that operatives of the newly-contracted private oil pipeline surveillance team, Tantita Security Services, effected the vessel’s arrest alongside its seven-member crew, on October 6, 2022, in the creeks of Escravos, whilst crude oil was being loaded illegally into the ship.

Onofiok, in his motion, noted that “Oil theft is a problem that has existed for a long time in the Niger Delta and has caused serious environmental degradation of the region and has negatively impacted on the revenue generation of Nigeria, causing the country to lose 470,000 barrels per day amounting to 700 million dollars monthly, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.”

The lawmaker commended the responsiveness of the private security firm (Tantita Security Services) in curbing oil theft, which led to the apprehending of an illegal oil bunkering vessel and handing it over to the security agency.