…Dares FG to name & prosecute culprits
A civil rights and non-governmental organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has informed that it is heading to court to put President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration on the dock over the illegal oil pipelines being discovered all over the country
In a statement issued via the group’s twitter handle, SERAP said, “We’re suing the Buhari administration over the discovery of illegal oil pipelines.”
Nigeria’s chief executive officer of National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, told a joint Senate committee last week Tuesday that it has uncovered a four-kilometre theft pipeline from Forcados Terminal that is operated by oil thieves.
Also Read: Buhari Emphasizes Commitment To Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan
Kyari noted that the illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea which had been in operation for nine years was detected during a surveillance check by security operatives led by Tantita security Services Ltd.
The security company is said to be owned former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta [MEND], Mr. Government Tompolo. The company was awarded a N4.5billion monthly contract to help federal government fight oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.
“In the course of the clampdown within the last six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1,561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized,” Kyari told the lawmakers
He added that as a result of oil theft, Nigeria loses about 600,000 barrels per day, which is not healthy for the nation’s economy, and in particular, the legal operators in the field, which had led to a closedown of some of their operational facilities.
Also Read: SERAP Sues President Buhari Over N1.48bn Expenditure on Moribund Refineries
SERAP is however compelling the Nigerian government to name those responsible for the plundering of the country’s oil wealth, bring them to justice, and recover the proceeds of crime.
At the a press conference last Sunday in Warri, the ex-militant leader, Government Tompolo, disclosed that over 58 points have been tapped have been discovered in both Delta and Bayelsa states.
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