Naval chief’s warning

NIGERIA’s Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, recently hinted that certain unscrupulous officers and men of the force were colluding with criminals to sabotage the efforts of the navy to curb oil bunkering and crude oil theft. He gave the hint at the recent decoration ceremony of the newly promoted Rear Admirals in Abuja, warning that any naval personnel caught in this act of sabotage would be made to face stiff penalties. Previously, the force had denied that its personnel were involved in the business of illegal oil bunkering and crude oil theft but the Rivers State governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, had insisted that the crude oil theft would have been impossible without the active collaboration between soldiers, policemen and criminals. Indeed, the CNS himself had doubted the oil theft figures released by the NNPCL, specifying the differences between oil theft—siphoning crude oil from vandalized pipes into badges—and oil loss, which occurs during shut-ins and force majeures. His point was that the volume of crude oil loss was often added to the oil theft figures.

Against this backdrop, it is cheering that the naval chief has acknowledged that some of his men may be involved in oil theft. That could be a boost for the fight against oil theft even if there is a disagreement about the actual amount of oil stolen. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the sustained sabotage to the country’s oil production capacity caused a 29 percent shortfall in oil revenue in the first quarter of 2022: earnings from crude oil fell to N790 billion from N1.1 trillion in the previous quarter which ran from October to December 2021. And only last month, the ad-hoc committee set up by the Senate to investigate oil theft and its damage to the economy submitted that Nigeria had lost an estimated $2bn to oil theft between January and August this year. That is a monumental loss that could have been prevented with honesty and professionalism among the uniformed services, and it buttresses the point made by the Rivers State governor regarding the military and police involvement in the oil theft/bunkering industry.

Now that the CNS has admitted that certain unscrupulous officers and men of the Navy may be involved in oil theft, it is only logical to expect him to go after them all and save the country money. Apparently, Nigerians cannot go after soldiers aiding and abetting oil theft: what they want is news of the arrest of such uniformed criminals. If ordinary citizens cannot hunt down the armed criminals sabotaging the oil industry, the heart of the country’s economy, who but the military is equipped to stop them, specifically the Navy which is specialised in handling the terrain of the crime? Only a report of the arrest of these criminals can save the force from further suspicion of collusion with outlaws.

.To be sure, the CNS’s warning would be amusing if it did not touch on an issue of such serious concern to the country and its people. There can be no trifling with the importance of oil to the health of the Nigerian economy and its implication for the welfare and living conditions of Nigerians. Just how could a person saddled with the responsibility of preventing theft be warning thieves to be careful, as they would face stiff penalties when caught? If the CNS is aware of the involvement of some of his personnel in oil theft, his duty is to apprehend them, not to warn them about repercussions. Preventing oil theft and apprehending oil thieves are responsibilities of the Nigerian Navy, over which the CNS presides. Surely, thieves would fear being apprehended and clamped in jail more than being warned. Warnings do not dissuade criminals from crime. The CNS should focus squarely on apprehending all those involved in the theft of Nigeria’s oil.

We hope that he would go beyond this acknowledgement of the possible involvement of naval personnel in oil theft and put in place the necessary structures with which to apprehend all those involved, including naval personnel if they happen to be part of the criminal business. It is only then that Nigerians would commend him for a job well done.

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