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  • Oil & Gas - News
  • Updated: June 09, 2023

Oil Theft: NSCDC Chief Reads Riot Act, Orders 24 Hours Surveillance

Oil Theft: NSCDC Chief Reads Riot Act, Orders 24 Hours Surve

The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi, has ordered 24-hour surveillance of all oil facilities while also reading the Riot Act to commandants in the Niger Delta States to get rid of economic saboteurs, vandals, criminals, and oil thieves in the region.

The directive came after President Bola Tinubu issued a marching order to clear the oil-rich area of any criminal activity that might impede the expansion of the oil sector.

The NSCDC's spokesman, Olusola Odumosu, stated on Friday: “Given the Presidential order to rid the nation’s oil sector of economic saboteurs, vandals, criminals, oil thieves, and other nefarious activities inimical to the growth of the sector, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has read the Riot Act to commandants of the Niger Delta states to ensure full compliance.

“Having summoned the concerned state commandants to the National Headquarters of the Corps in Abuja, the CG gave them marching orders to immediately rejig their anti-vandal units as a measure to arrest oil theft and vandalism of critical national assets.”

According to the CG's spokesman, the President has announced zero tolerance for crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, and other frivolous deals in petroleum products, and therefore anybody detected aiding and abetting economic saboteurs would face the full force of the law.

"This meeting became necessary to convey President Bola Tinubu's directive on the absolute need to end all sharp practises in the nation's oil sector," Audi was quoted as saying.

“Oil remains the mainstay of our economy; you must therefore rejig your anti-vandal units to end the problem of oil theft in compliance with the Federal Government’s directives.

“We have a duty to protect our oil and gas sectors from vandalism and prevent illegal bunkerers from destroying our oil installations, infrastructure, and earnings.”

The CG also entrusted the state commandants with maintaining 24-hour monitoring of the country's oil infrastructure, collaborating with host communities, and gathering enough reliable information and intelligence to end the threat.

He underlined the need of ensuring the safety of all exhibits, the security of display centres, and rigorous adherence to the Corps' code of ethics and standard operating procedures.

The corps commander cautioned that his administration will not tolerate compromise or unethical behaviour from any command or staff, and vowed to hold any state commandant accountable for oil theft, acts of indiscipline, and breakdowns in law and order in their domains.

“As the lead agency in the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure, there is a need to be determined and resilient in the fight against crude oil theft.

“His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is already changing the narrative for good, and we cannot afford to let the President and the entire nation down.”

Audi further challenged the staff with concentrating on synergy and coordination with other security agencies as well as key stakeholders in order to decrease crude oil theft to a bare minimum.

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